Malus sylvestris

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Malus sylvestris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Malus
Species: M. sylvestris
Binomial name
Malus sylvestris
(L.) Mill.

Malus sylvestris is a species of Malus (crabapple), native to Europe from as far south as Spain, Italy and Greece to as far north as Scandinavia and Russia. Its scientific name means forest apple, and the truly wild tree has thorns.

In the past, M. sylvestris was thought to be an important ancestor of the cultivated apple (M. domestica), but these have now been shown to be primarily derived from the central Asian species M. sieversii[citation needed]. However, another recent DNA analysis[1] showed that M. sylvestris has contributed to the ancestry of M. domestica.

The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by insects.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Coart, E., Van Glabeke, S., De Loose, M., Larsen, A.S., Roldán-Ruiz, I. 2006. Chloroplast diversity in the genus Malus: new insights into the relationship between the European wild apple (Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill.) and the domesticated apple (Malus domestica Borkh.). Mol. Ecol. 15(8): 2171-82.
  • M.H.A. Hoffman, List of names of woody plants, Applied Plant Research, Boskoop 2005.
  • RHS dictionary of gardening, 1992

[edit] External links