Abstract
`Maschanzker' is one of the best-known old apple cultivars in Austria and in the 19th century this variety also played an important role in the fruit production of South Tyrol (Northern Italy). `Maschanzker' is believed to originate from one of the oldest German apple variAeties `Borsdorfer', which is even considered a synonym. However, since the denomination `Maschanzker' is part of the name of a number of more or less similar types of apple, this study aimed at investigating the synonymy and homonymy as well as the relationships within and between different accessions of `Maschanzker', `Borsdorfer' and `Edelborsdorfer' by employing 14 microsatellite DNA markers. A total of 38 accessions from several collections in Europe were analysed and 14 different genotypes were identified, which were assigned to three groups. Our data suggest a series of parent-offspring connections within the here defined Maschanzker group and the Edelborsdorfer group, while no closer relationship was evident to or among the accessions of the Borsdorfer group. Molecular genetic analyses thus provide fundamental data which can serve as a basis for the pomological revision of the `Maschanzker'/'Borsdorfer' cultivar complex.