The Crab Apple Malus sylvestris (Rosaceae)
Crab apple Malus sylvestris (Rosaceae) is also known as wild apple, wild crab, aball (Irish) gribble, grindstone apple, bittersgall, wilding tree, griggles (small apples left on the tree after leaf fall), and no doubt many other regional names, do let us know!.
The word malus L. bad, evil, seen as a negative, malignant, malnourished, malfunction. The word sylvestris L. sylva is wood, vestris refers to the manner of growth, being scrubby, gnarled, twisted, crabbed. Twigs often develop spines giving a crabby nature.
So, the crab apple has a poor press, evil and scruffy, if you are feeling grumpy, nippy, possibly a bit sour, you may say you are feeling crabbit! Perhaps this is why, despite being one of the prettiest and a highly productive native tree of Scotland, the crab apple is the least understood and very under appreciated.
Description
The crab apple is a deciduous, broadleaf, dome-shaped, slow-growing tree and grows to 10-15m. It is sometimes difficult to spot in a mixed woodland as the blossoms are often above the tree canopy. However, in winter the bright yellow/green crabs, often flushed with red, become obvious on the tree, and litter the woodland floor.
The green, glossy, oval leaves up to 6cm with rounded triangular teeth, alternate on the shoot, and distinctively, the underside has few or no hairs. Domestic apples often have a downy underside. The leaves are often folded or appear crumpled. The stalk is 2-3cm long and spur shoots may bear a thorn. The bark is smooth and green brown with large orange breathing pores (lenticels) older trees have scaly ridges.
The blossom consists of white or pink flowers in clusters of four to seven appearing with the leaves in the spring.
The globe shaped fruit, 2-3m by 2-4cm, are yellow/green sometimes flushed with red and carry the remnants of the flower, they have a sharp, dry and slightly sour taste when raw but make excellent jelly and can be roasted with game or roast meats. Fruits can be gathered September to October but may stay on the tree until the following spring withstanding the fiercest of gales.
Fallen fruits are foraged by cows, badger, rabbit, hare, voles, mice and the empty shells indicate squirrel activity searching for pips.
The trees are long lived some 100-150 years old; some have a girth of one and a half metres.
The crab apple has 57,000 genes, 36,000 more than humans. We share 40% of our DNA with apples, perhaps that is why, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away!’
Habitat
The crab apple is common in ancient woodlands and hedgerows, all over Britain and northern Europe. Crab apples usually grow singly but in old woods, crab apples can be found in clumps due to suckering and self seeding. Wild crab apples were rarely planted but more lately there has been an interest in planting them in mixed edible hedges and they are available from FRM registered nurseries to ensure as close as possible to true natives. Ornamental introduced varieties such as Golden Hornet and John Downie are often seen in parks and gardens; they are municipal gardener’s favourites for blossom and brightly coloured fruits. However these are not native crab apples, although fruits of all varieties may be used to make jelly and jams.
Domestic apple trees Malus domestica are said to have been propagated from Malus sieversii, a native apple from the mountains of central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, first described as Pyrus sieversii due to its similarities to pears. However, a 2012 study by Amandine Cornille, Uppsala University, Sweden, suggests that Malus sylvestris was a major or secondary contributor of genes to the modern domesticated apple as far back as 1,500 years ago, and in fact Malus domestica is now thought to be more closely related to Malus sylvestris than to its original ancestor Malus sieversii from the Tien Shan mountains.
A survey and paper written by Markus Ruhsam, Rick Worrel and James Renny (Nov 2022) reports that many Malus sylvestris sold in UK tree nurseries are not pure native as the seed may have been collected from trees in the vicinity of domestic apples therefore hybridised. The pureness of the mother tree depends on its isolation from other hybridised crab apples and domestic apple trees. Many of the trees in our survey have these pure qualities as they are in remote locations.
It is vital to maintain the natural genetic purity of the Galloway stock as an important genetic resource for improving commercial crops in the future. Our Galloway trees have a vital role in food security, we also need native crab apples in seed banks and nursery beds to help regenerate or replenish our native stock.
The word malus L. bad, evil, seen as a negative, malignant, malnourished, malfunction. The word sylvestris L. sylva is wood, vestris refers to the manner of growth, being scrubby, gnarled, twisted, crabbed. Twigs often develop spines giving a crabby nature.
So, the crab apple has a poor press, evil and scruffy, if you are feeling grumpy, nippy, possibly a bit sour, you may say you are feeling crabbit! Perhaps this is why, despite being one of the prettiest and a highly productive native tree of Scotland, the crab apple is the least understood and very under appreciated.
Description
The crab apple is a deciduous, broadleaf, dome-shaped, slow-growing tree and grows to 10-15m. It is sometimes difficult to spot in a mixed woodland as the blossoms are often above the tree canopy. However, in winter the bright yellow/green crabs, often flushed with red, become obvious on the tree, and litter the woodland floor.
The green, glossy, oval leaves up to 6cm with rounded triangular teeth, alternate on the shoot, and distinctively, the underside has few or no hairs. Domestic apples often have a downy underside. The leaves are often folded or appear crumpled. The stalk is 2-3cm long and spur shoots may bear a thorn. The bark is smooth and green brown with large orange breathing pores (lenticels) older trees have scaly ridges.
The blossom consists of white or pink flowers in clusters of four to seven appearing with the leaves in the spring.
The globe shaped fruit, 2-3m by 2-4cm, are yellow/green sometimes flushed with red and carry the remnants of the flower, they have a sharp, dry and slightly sour taste when raw but make excellent jelly and can be roasted with game or roast meats. Fruits can be gathered September to October but may stay on the tree until the following spring withstanding the fiercest of gales.
Fallen fruits are foraged by cows, badger, rabbit, hare, voles, mice and the empty shells indicate squirrel activity searching for pips.
The trees are long lived some 100-150 years old; some have a girth of one and a half metres.
The crab apple has 57,000 genes, 36,000 more than humans. We share 40% of our DNA with apples, perhaps that is why, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away!’
Habitat
The crab apple is common in ancient woodlands and hedgerows, all over Britain and northern Europe. Crab apples usually grow singly but in old woods, crab apples can be found in clumps due to suckering and self seeding. Wild crab apples were rarely planted but more lately there has been an interest in planting them in mixed edible hedges and they are available from FRM registered nurseries to ensure as close as possible to true natives. Ornamental introduced varieties such as Golden Hornet and John Downie are often seen in parks and gardens; they are municipal gardener’s favourites for blossom and brightly coloured fruits. However these are not native crab apples, although fruits of all varieties may be used to make jelly and jams.
Domestic apple trees Malus domestica are said to have been propagated from Malus sieversii, a native apple from the mountains of central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, first described as Pyrus sieversii due to its similarities to pears. However, a 2012 study by Amandine Cornille, Uppsala University, Sweden, suggests that Malus sylvestris was a major or secondary contributor of genes to the modern domesticated apple as far back as 1,500 years ago, and in fact Malus domestica is now thought to be more closely related to Malus sylvestris than to its original ancestor Malus sieversii from the Tien Shan mountains.
A survey and paper written by Markus Ruhsam, Rick Worrel and James Renny (Nov 2022) reports that many Malus sylvestris sold in UK tree nurseries are not pure native as the seed may have been collected from trees in the vicinity of domestic apples therefore hybridised. The pureness of the mother tree depends on its isolation from other hybridised crab apples and domestic apple trees. Many of the trees in our survey have these pure qualities as they are in remote locations.
It is vital to maintain the natural genetic purity of the Galloway stock as an important genetic resource for improving commercial crops in the future. Our Galloway trees have a vital role in food security, we also need native crab apples in seed banks and nursery beds to help regenerate or replenish our native stock.
