WorldFloraDB - Malus sylvestris

Characteristics

A shrub like tree. It grows to about 9 m high. There are many cultivated varieties. The leaves are alternate and oval and 4-10 cm long. The point is blunt. The base is rounded. There are fine teeth along the edge. The upper surface is dark green and it is densely hairy underneath. The wild crab apple has thorns. The flowers are white or pink. They are 3 cm wide and have 5 rounded petals. The fruit is the familiar apple. It can be a cultivated plant or a self sown or wild plant. It is 5-9 cm across and shiny red or yellow. It is sunken at the ends. The centre is a star shaped core. There can be 10 seeds.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

tree

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

endozoochory

Mature width (meter)

4.0 - 8.0

Mature height (meter)

9.1 - 12.0

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

2.0

Root diameter (meter)

-

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

c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows in moist soils near houses. In Argentina it grows between 1,000-1,500 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 3-9. Arboretum Tasmania.

More

Woods, scrub and hedges, especially in oak woods, on neutral to calcareous soils.

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

Usage

The unselected fruit is bitter and is used for jelly, jam and wine. It can be used for vinegar. The flowers can be crystallised.

Uses	animal food dye environmental use fodder food gene source material medicinal rootstock tea timber wood
Edible	fruits leaves seeds
Therapeutic use	Antipyretics (bark), Fever (bark), Jaundice (bark), Antitussive agents (flower), Anthelmintics (fruit), Antioxidants (fruit), Antitussive agents (fruit), Constipation (fruit), Laxatives (fruit), Lipid peroxidation (fruit), Anthelmintics (root), Antipyretics (root), Hypnotics and sedatives (root), Cooling effect on body (root), Antipyretics (seed), Apertif (unspecified), Bactericide (unspecified), Bilious (unspecified), Cacoethes (unspecified), Cancer (unspecified), Carminative (unspecified), Catarrh (unspecified), Diabetes (unspecified), Digestive (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Dysentery (unspecified), Emollient (unspecified), Fatality (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Flux (unspecified), Hypnotic (unspecified), Laxative (unspecified), Leukemia (unspecified), Malaria (unspecified), Pertussis (unspecified), Refrigerant (unspecified), Scurvy (unspecified), Sedative (unspecified), Spasm (unspecified), Thirst (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Vermifuge (unspecified), Wart (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Cardiac (unspecified), Cyanogenetic (unspecified), Depurative (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified), Anti-infective agents, local (unspecified), Demulcents (unspecified), Emollients (unspecified), Cooling effect on body (unspecified)
Human toxicity	weak toxic (seed)
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Seedling trees normally have poorer fruit. Grafted varieties are used for selected kinds.

Mode	cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	stratification
Minimum temperature (C°)	-29
Optimum temperature (C°)	10 - 30
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-