Origin: in Red Bluff, Calif., by Grant Merrill, Exeter, Calif. Introd. in 1966. Plant patent 2694; 27 Dec. 1966. Merrill Gold Rush × Gemfree. Tree: large; vigorous; leaf glands reniform; blooming about the same time as July Elberta; flowers medium, dark pink; annually productive. Fruit: resembles Gemfree being distinguished by a shallower, smaller-lipped suture that presents a more uniformly smooth outer skin surface having a brighter red coloring; flesh is distinguished by its more brilliant yellow coloring with a minimum of red flecking when firm-ripe, in having a better flavor, more melting consistency when soft-ripe, and a reduced tendency to oxidize or brown when exposed to air; freestone when soft-ripe and permitted to ripen off tree; for fresh market; shipping quality good; ripens a few days earlier than Gemfree.
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