Malus niedzwetzkyana
Niedzwetzky's apple | |
---|---|
Illustration of Malus niedzwetzkyana from a 1921 botanical compendium | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Genus: | Malus |
Species: | M. niedzwetzkyana
|
Binomial name | |
Malus niedzwetzkyana |
Malus niedzwetzkyana, or Niedzwetzky's apple, is a kind of
Niedzwetzky's apple is rare, often growing as an isolated tree, and is endangered throughout its range by agricultural encroachment and logging operations.[2] Only 111 specimens of the tree are known to survive in Kyrgyzstan. The conservation group Fauna & Flora International is working to save and restore the species in that country, and has put M. niedzwetzkyana on its endangered list, brought it under its Global Trees Campaign, and planted over 1000 saplings in area forests in 2010 and 2011[5][6]
The tree was introduced to the West c. 1890 by Georg Dieck at the Zöschen Arboretum, Germany, who grew it from seed sent by the Russian lawyer and amateur botanist Vladislav E. Niedzwiecki living in exile in Turkestan; Dieck later donated specimens to the Späth nursery, which exported the tree to the USA c. 1896.[7]
Description
The tree is winter-hardy and drought-resistant, growing 5–8 m (16–26 ft) tall in the wild (<5 m under cultivation), with a globular crown and very dark purplish-brown bark.[citation needed]
New shoots are dark purple, and leaves range from purplish when new to dark green when mature. In the spring it puts out intensely magenta-rose flowers. The skin of the fruit is deep red to purple-red (sometimes with a bluish, waxy bloom) and the flesh ranges from light to bright red, with dark reddish-brown seeds.[8]
The fruit is edible and not very tart, with dry, somewhat chewy flesh.[9] In the Kashgar region of China near the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan borders, it is known as 'kisil alma': 'red apple'.[9]
Cultivation
Malus niedzwetzkyana has been used to breed some modern red-leaved, red-flowered, and red-fruited apples and crabapples. It is believed to be the ancestor of
Cultivars
- 'Red Vein'.[12]
See also
References
- ^ The Plant List (version 2)
- ^ a b Malus pumila in "Flora of China"
- ^ Global Biodiversity Information Facility website
- ^ "Malus niedzwetzkyana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
- ^ "Garden of Eden's Orchards in Danger" Archived 2015-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Conserving Threatened Apple and Pear Species in Kyrgyzstan"
- ISBN 9781153197953
- ^ Dzhangaliev, A.D., T.N. Salova and P.M. Turekhanova. "The Wild Fruit and Nut Plants of Kazakhstan"
- ^ a b Nash, George V. "Malus niedzwetzkyana". In Addisonia: Colored Illustrations and Popular Descriptions of Plants, vol. 6. The New York Botanical Garden (Addison Brown Fund), 1921, pp. 23–24.
- ^ "The Ettersburg Apple Legacies", Greenmantle Nursery website
- ^ "Rosé Ciders to Try This Summer"
- ^ Moffet, L. (1931). Plumfield Nurseries Wholesale Trade List, Spring 1931.. Plumfield Nurseries, Fremont, Nebraska.