One in a million: Half-red, half-yellow apple draws crowds to New Zealand store

A one-in-a-million apple with two distinctly coloured halves has been drawing curious crowds into a produce store in New Zealand.

The unusual half-red, half-yellow fruit was found in a delivery of Red Braeburn apples in mid-May at Sunshine Corner Market in Christchurch.

Also known as a chimera apple, the fruit resulted from a genetic mutation that caused it to form from cells from two different genetic backgrounds.

It is believed to occur in less than one in a million fruit.

The store’s owner, Heather, said the apple has become something of a local celebrity.

“People have gone home, told their other half, and they haven’t believed them, so they’ve come back with them,” she told the New Zealand Herald. “Lots of people are really excited and have taken photos of it – it’s just captured people’s imagination.”

She told the newspaper this was the first time she had seen a chimera apple.

“We’ve been in the game a long time, never seen one like it,” she said.

She added that some people even asked to touch the apple for good luck before entering contests.

For now, the store has extended its shelf life by keeping it in the fridge.

Still, it has yet to decide what to do with the fruit – whether to preserve it or cut it open to see what the inside looks like.