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| Malus sylvestris - Crab Apple |
Malus sylvestris common name is Crab Apple or European crab apple. It is commonly known as wild apple. It is a bushy, dense and much branched tree which may be found in untended woods or elsewhere throughout Europe and commonly found in hedges and edges of woodland. Throughout Europe except the far north and west, also into North-West Asia. The crab apple is a deciduous, small shrubby, spring flowering tree, which is uncommon in the wild. Though no one plants this tree, its blossom alone makes it worthwhile.
The interlacing branches bear long shoots that extend the framework of the crown, short shoots or ‘spurs’ That carry blossom, and sometimes shoots of medium length that are modified into sharp spines. The small winter buds are alternate and pointed, and have hairy scales. The bright green leaves are simple and oval, 1-2 inches long, with a toothed margin and a bluntly pointed tip.
The bi-sexual flowers which open late in April are usually pink in bud, becoming white or slightly flushed with pink when open. When ripe in autumn the fruit (a ‘pome’) is yellowish-green flushed with brownish-red, and about an inch in diameter, though very sour, it can be gathered to make the best sort of crab-apple jelly.
The bark is grayish-brown and when old becomes furrowed and peels off in thin flakes. The wood, red-brown and tough, has been often used for mallet heads and ornamental carving.
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