Holzapfel - Malus sylvestris - European crab apple - Pommier sauvage 01
Malus sylvestris, the European crab apple, also known as the European wild apple or simply the crab apple, is a species of the genus Malus, native to Europe and western Asia. Its scientific name means "forest apple"
The wild apple is a deciduous small to medium-sized tree, but can also grow into a multi-stemmed bush. It can live 80–100 years and grow up to 14 metres (46 feet) tall with trunk diameters of usually 23–45 centimetres (9–17+1⁄2 inches), although diameters exceeding 90 centimetres (35 in) have been recorded. The leaves are roundish-oval and sometimes hairy on the underside. The hermaphrodite flowers appear in May, slightly preceding hawthorn, have white or pinkish petals and are insect-pollinated. The small pome-fruits are around 3 centimetres (1.2 in) in diameter, ripen in autumn and fall to the ground. The bark is light brown and breaks up in flakes. The branches are thorny, especially in response to pruning or browsing.
In the past M. sylvestris was thought to be the most important ancestor of the cultivated apple (M. domestica), which has since been shown to have been primarily derived from the central Asian species M. sieversii. However, DNA analyses confirm that M. sylvestris has contributed significantly to the genome. They found that secondary introgression from other species of the genus Malus has greatly shaped the genome of M. domestica, with M. sylvestris being the largest secondary contributor. They also found that current populations of M. domestica are more closely related to M. sylvestris than to M. sieversii. However, in more pure strains of M. domestica, the M. sieversii ancestry still predominates.
Holzapfel - Malus sylvestris - European crab apple - Pommier sauvage 01
Malus sylvestris, the European crab apple, also known as the European wild apple or simply the crab apple, is a species of the genus Malus, native to Europe and western Asia. Its scientific name means "forest apple"
The wild apple is a deciduous small to medium-sized tree, but can also grow into a multi-stemmed bush. It can live 80–100 years and grow up to 14 metres (46 feet) tall with trunk diameters of usually 23–45 centimetres (9–17+1⁄2 inches), although diameters exceeding 90 centimetres (35 in) have been recorded. The leaves are roundish-oval and sometimes hairy on the underside. The hermaphrodite flowers appear in May, slightly preceding hawthorn, have white or pinkish petals and are insect-pollinated. The small pome-fruits are around 3 centimetres (1.2 in) in diameter, ripen in autumn and fall to the ground. The bark is light brown and breaks up in flakes. The branches are thorny, especially in response to pruning or browsing.
In the past M. sylvestris was thought to be the most important ancestor of the cultivated apple (M. domestica), which has since been shown to have been primarily derived from the central Asian species M. sieversii. However, DNA analyses confirm that M. sylvestris has contributed significantly to the genome. They found that secondary introgression from other species of the genus Malus has greatly shaped the genome of M. domestica, with M. sylvestris being the largest secondary contributor. They also found that current populations of M. domestica are more closely related to M. sylvestris than to M. sieversii. However, in more pure strains of M. domestica, the M. sieversii ancestry still predominates.