Bred in 1959 at Kibbutz Ein Shemer in Doar Na Shomron by Abba Stein as a cross between the local cultivars Red Hadassiya (a plum-sized apple) and Golden Delicious. Considered the standard in low-chilling apples, Anna is Israel's gift to the world as it feeds half the tropical world.
The showy blossoms burst fourth in late February and every blossom sets an apple (thin heavily). Aggressive thinners will be rewarded with humongous, beautiful apples blushed red and yellow. Anna must be pollinated with Dorsett Golden to get this size. The flesh is white, crisp, sweet, juicy, with a hint of zing; it makes excellent apple pies.