Malus
Malus Temporal range:
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Malus ‘Purple Prince'[1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Subfamily: | Amygdaloideae |
Tribe: | Maleae |
Subtribe: | Malinae |
Genus: | Malus Mill. |
Type species | |
Malus sylvestris Mill. (1768)
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Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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Malus (
The genus is
Description
Apple trees are typically 4–12 metres (13–39 feet) talI at maturity, with a dense, twiggy crown. The
Many apples require
A number of cultivars are self-pollinating, such as 'Granny Smith' and 'Golden Delicious', but are considerably fewer in number compared to their cross-pollination dependent counterparts.[citation needed]
Several Malus species, including domestic apples, hybridize freely.[5]
The
Subdivisions and species
36 species and 4 hybrids are accepted.
Species
36 species and four natural hybrids are accepted:[2]
- Malus angustifolia (Aiton) Michx. – southern crabapple
- Malus asiatica Nakai – Chinese pearleaf crabapple
- Malus baccata (L.) Borkh. – Siberian crabapple
- Malus brevipes– shrub apple
- Malus coronaria (L.) Mill. – sweet crabapple
- Malus crescimannoi Raimondo
- Malus daochengensis C.L.Li
- Malus domestica(Suckow) Borkh. – domestic or orchard apple
- Malus doumeri (Bois) A.Chev. – Taiwan crabapple
- Malus florentina (Zuccagni) C.K.Schneid. – Florentine crabapple, hawthorn-leaf crabapple
- Malus fusca (Raf.) C.K.Schneid. – Oregon or Pacific crabapple
- Malus halliana Koehne – Hall crabapple
- Malus honanensis Rehder
- Malus hupehensis (Pamp.) Rehder – tea crabapple
- Malus ioensis (Alph.Wood) Britton – prairie crabapple
- Malus jinxianensis J.Q.Deng & J.Y.Hong
- Malus kansuensis (Batalin) C.K.Schneid. – Calva crabapple
- Malus komarovii (Sarg.) Rehder
- Malus leiocalyca S.Z.Huang
- Malus mandshurica (Maxim.) Kom. ex Skvortsov
- Malus muliensis T.C.Ku
- Malus niedzwetzkyana – Niedzwetzky's Apple
- Malus ombrophila Hand.-Mazz.
- Malus orientalis Uglitzk.
- Malus prattii (Hemsl.) C.K.Schneid. – Pratt's crabapple
- Malus prunifolia (Willd.) Borkh. – plum-leaf crabapple, Chinese crabapple
- Malus rockii Rehder – native to China and Bhutan
- Malus sikkimensis (Wenz.) Koehne – Sikkim crabapple
- Malus spectabilis (Aiton) Borkh. – Asiatic apple, Chinese crabapple
- Malus spontanea (Makino) Makino
- Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. – European crabapple
- ) – Sargent crabapple, Toringo crabapple, or Siebold's crabapple
- Malus toringoides (Rehder) Hughes – cut-leaf crabapple
- Malus transitoria (Batalin) C.K.Schneid. – cut-leaf crabapple
- Malus trilobata (Labill. ex Poir.) C.K.Schneid. – Lebanese wild apple, erect crabapple, or three-lobed apple tree
- Malus domestica
- Malus yunnanensis (Franch.) C.K.Schneid. – Yunnan crabapple
- Malus zhaojiaoensis N.G.Jiang
- Hybrids
- Malus × floribundaSiebold ex Van Houtte – Japanese flowering crabapple
- Malus × micromalus) – midget crabapple
- Malus × soulardii (L.H.Bailey) Britton
- Malus × zumi (Matsum.) Rehder
Formerly placed here
- Macromeles tschonoskii (Maxim.) Koidz. (as Malus tschonoskii (Maxim.) C.K.Schneid.) – Chonosuki crabapple and pillar apple[citation needed]
Selected artificial hybrids
- Malus × sublobata – yellow autumn crabapple (M. asiatica × M. toringo)
Fossil species
After[6]
- Malus collardii Axelrod, North America (Idaho), Eocene
- Malus kingiensis Budants, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, Eocene
- Malus florissantensis (Cockerell) MacGinitie Green River Formation, North America (Colorado) Eocene
- Malus pseudocredneria (Cockerell) MacGinitie Green River Formation, North America (Colorado) Eocene
- Malus idahoensis R.W.Br. North America (Idaho), Miocene
- Malus parahupehensis J.Hsu and R.W.Chaney Shanwang, Shandong, China, Miocene
- Malus antiqua Doweld Romania, Pliocene
- Malus pseudoangustifolia E.W.Berry North America (South Carolina), Pleistocene
Cultivation
Crabapples are popular as compact ornamental trees, providing blossom in spring and colourful fruit in autumn. The fruits often persist throughout winter. Numerous hybrid cultivars have been selected.[citation needed]
Some crabapples are used as rootstocks for domestic apples to add beneficial characteristics.[7] For example, the rootstocks of Malus baccata varieties are used to give additional cold hardiness to the combined plants for orchards in cold northern areas.[8]
They are also used as
Because of the plentiful blossoms and small fruit, crabapples are popular for use in bonsai culture.[9][10][11]
Cultivars
These cultivars have won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-[12]
Other varieties are dealt with under their species names.
Toxicity
The seeds contain cyanide compounds.[21]
Uses
Crabapple fruit is not an important
Some crabapple varieties are an exception to the reputation of being sour, and can be very sweet, such as the 'Chestnut' cultivar.[22]
Crabapples are an excellent source of
Applewood gives off a pleasant scent when burned, and smoke from an applewood fire gives an excellent flavour to smoked foods.[25] It is easier to cut when green; dry applewood is exceedingly difficult to carve by hand.[25] It is a good wood for cooking fires because it burns hot and slow, without producing much flame.[25] Applewood is used to make handles of hand saws; in the early 1900s 2,000,000 board feet of applewood were used annually for this purpose.[26]
Gallery
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Apple blossom. Eastern Siberia
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Ripe wild crab apples (Malus sylvestris)
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Baskets of crab apples for sale in Connecticut in 1939
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Trunk
References
- ^ Cirrus Digital Purple Prince Crabapple
- ^ a b c "Malus Mill". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- doi:10.1139/b90-288.
- ^ Ken Wilson and D.C. Elfving. "Crabapple Pollenizers for Apples". Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Retrieved 12 Sep 2013.
- ^ S2CID 247384781.
- ^ Apple Tree Rootstocks Ecogardening Factsheet #21, Summer 1999
- ^ Alaska Department of Natural Resources [https://web.archive.org/web/20080719050542/http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/ag/21Applerootstocks.pdf Archived 2008-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Biel, John. "Collecting and Training Crab Apples | American Bonsai Society". www.absbonsai.org. American Bonsai Society. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "Crabapple (Malus) - Bonsai Empire". www.bonsaiempire.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ Walston, Brent. "Crabapples for Bonsai". evergreengardenworks.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 63. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Malus 'Adirondack'". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Malus 'Butterball'". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "Malus 'Comtesse de Paris'". RHS. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder -Malus 'Evereste'". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Malus Jelly King = 'Mattfru'". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Malus 'Laura'". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Malus × robusta 'Red Sentinel'". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Malus 'Sun Rival'". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- )
- ^ "The Growing Guide". Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards Co. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26.
- ISBN 0-7432-1502-8.
- ^ "The Science of Cidermaking". Andrew Lea. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ a b c Fraser, Anna (22 August 2005). "Properties of different trees as firewood". Retrieved 17 July 2008.
- ^ Burks, Jeff (2015). "Woods Used in Saw Handles". Lost Art Press, Traditional Hand-tool Skills. blog.lostartpress.com.
External links
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Malus
- Flora of China: Malus
- Virginia Cooperative Extension - Disease resistant crabapples Archived 8 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- The PRI disease resistant apple breeding program: a cooperative among University of Illinois.