This tree is very resistant to both scab and mildew, and it blooms late enough to avoid frost damage, hence its alternative name, Wise Apple. It is productive, very cold hardy, and partially tip-bearing.

In Apples of Uncommon Character, Jacobsen describes the unique appearance of this apple as "like a Cox's Orange Pippin that got stepped on"; the apple has a distinctly flattened shape and a very short stem. The name Court Pendu Plat, in fact, translates as "short-hanging flat." The skin is a dull red over green, and burnished with fine russet. Dense and crunchy, the flesh is dry with a citric acidity that mellows in storage. In the Victorian era, this was among the most prized dessert apples, and it was also valued as a landscaping tree.

Court Pendu Plat is first recorded around 1613 by J Bauhin, who found the tree growing in a Gallic ruin. Later authors have speculated that the tree may date to Roman times, or even earlier.

Fruit photographed at Black Diamond Farm, Trumansburg, NY.