WorldFloraDB - Malus domestica

Characteristics

Small trees, up to 10 m. Twigs hairy when young. Leaves elliptic-ovate, 4-13 by 3-7 cm, base rounded, margins serrate, apex acute, with 3-6 pairs of nerves, usually hairy underneath. Inflorescence a simple raceme, terminal on short shoots. Hypanthium hairy outside. Sepals persistent on the fruit. Petals white to pinkish. Ovary 4-or 5-celled, inferior, ovules 2 per cell. Fruit a pome, globular to obovoid, exocarp glabrous, variously coloured, mesocarp fleshy, without stone cells, endocarp leathery to bony. Seeds usually 2 per cell.

A small to medium sized deciduous tree. It grows 5-10 m tall. It has a single trunk and branches freely. There can be long shoots and short spurs. Young stems and twigs have a covering. The leaves are oval and 4-13 cm long by 3-7 cm wide. They are rounded at the base. The edges have irregular teeth. The flowers are usually near the ends of branches on spurs. Several flowers occur together. There are 5 white to pink petals. The fruit is usually almost round and over 5 cm across. There are 2 seeds in each cell. They are brown.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

tree

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

endozoochory

Mature width (meter)

4.0 - 6.0

Mature height (meter)

9.0 - 10.0

Root system

Rooting depth (meter)

2.4

Root diameter (meter)

0.3

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

Fruiting months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Nitrogen fixer

Photosynthetic pathway

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It is grown at altitude in the tropics. In the tropics a short growth cycle requires mild temperatures throughout the year. This is found near the equator at altitudes of 800-1200 m where temperatures are 16-27°C. A rainfall of 1600-3200 mm and a relative humidity of 75-85%. The growing season should have good sunlight while the off season should be overcaste and cool. Most apple varieties require 1,000 hours of chilling at temperatures below 7°C during the dormant season. In the Himalayas this occurs between 1,400-2,800 m altitude. Low chilling varieties occur. It suits hardiness zones 3-9.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

Uses See Nguyen Tien Hiep & E.W.M. Verheij E.W.M. Verheij & R.E. Coro-nel (eds.) Edible fruits and nuts, Plant Res. SE Asia (PROSEA Handbook) 2 1991 200-203 for a review of the cultivation of the apple in Malesian countries.

The fruit are eaten fresh. They are also cooked and used to make juice. The fruit can be sliced and dried. Caution: Apples seeds contain amygdalin a cyanogenic glucoside.

Uses	breeding drinks environmental use fodder food fuel gene source gum material medicinal oil ornamental poison rootstock social use tea timber wood
Edible	fruits seeds
Therapeutic use	-
Human toxicity	weak toxic (seed)
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plats are grown by seed and by grafting. In the tropics the plants are almost evergreen with little shoot growth and flowers and fruiting can occur throughout the year. To produce consistent fruiting, branches and bent horizontal and tied down. Sometimes leaves are picked off. The importance or cross pollination is less important in the tropics. Apples are normally produce by budding using shoots of good clones. In Indonesia a root stock from wild apple is produced by root suckers or air layering. The dormancy of seeds is broken by putting them in a freezer for 30-150 days.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-29
Optimum temperature (C°)	14 - 27
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-

Images

Habit

Malus domestica habit picture by Alain Bigou (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Malus domestica leaf picture by Олег (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Malus domestica flower picture by Daan Schrauwen (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Malus domestica fruit picture by Josianne LEVYNE (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Identifiers

LSID	urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:726282-1
WFO ID	wfo-0001008355
COL ID	7NHJZ
BDTFX ID	40744
INPN ID	107207
Wikipedia (EN)	Link
Wikipedia (FR)	Link

Synonyms

Pyrus malus Malus frutescens Malus batavica Malus astracanica Malus dioica Malus dolichomorpha Pyrus astracanica Pyrus dioica Pyrus niedzwetzkyana Malus domestica Pyrus pumila Malus sieversii f. niedzwetzkyana Pyrus malus var. mitis Pyrus malus var. paradisiaca Malus domestica subsp. pumila Malus domestica subsp. caucasica Malus domestica subsp. hybrida Malus domestica subsp. intermedia Malus domestica subsp. macrocarpa Malus domestica subsp. medio-asiatica Malus domestica subsp. occidentali-europaea Malus domestica subsp. rossica Malus sylvestris subsp. paradisiaca Malus sylvestris var. dasyphylla Pyrus malus var. prasomila Malus domestica var. dasyphylla Malus sieversii var. persicifolia Malus sylvestris var. praecox Malus domestica var. calvillea Malus domestica var. parmaenea Malus domestica var. renettea

Lower taxons

Malus domestica (Suckow) Borkh.

Pommier cultivé (fr), Pommier domestique (fr), Pommier commun (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Rosales > Rosaceae > Malus