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Malus sylvestris

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Malus sylvestris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Rosales
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Malus
Species:
M. sylvestris
Binomial name
Malus sylvestris

Malus sylvestris, the European crab apple, is a species of the genus Malus, native to Europe. Its scientific name means "forest apple", and the truly wild tree has thorns.

Progenitor of cultivated apples

In the past, M. sylvestris was thought to be the most important ancestor of the cultivated apple (M. domestica), which has since been shown to have been originally derived from the central Asian species M. sieversii.[1] However, another recent DNA analysis[2] confirms that M. sylvestris has contributed significantly to the genome.

The study found that secondary introgression from other species of the Malus genus has greatly shaped the genome of M. domestica, with M. sylvestris being the largest secondary contributor. It also found that current populations of M. domestica are more closely related to M. sylvestris than to M. sieversii. However, in more pure strains of M. domestica the M. sieversii ancestry still predominates.

The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by insects.

Pests

Its leaves are food of the caterpillars of the twin-spotted sphinx (Smerinthus jamaicensis) and possibly the hawthorn moth (Scythropia crataegella).


  • Tree
    Tree
  • Blossoms at the Botanical Garden KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany
    Blossoms at the Botanical Garden KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany
  • At Vosseslag, Belgium
    At Vosseslag, Belgium
  • Pink blossom
    Pink blossom
  • Ripe wild crab apples (Malus sylvestris)
    Ripe wild crab apples (Malus sylvestris)
  • Close-up showing fruit and leaves (Southeast Michigan)
    Close-up showing fruit and leaves (Southeast Michigan)
  • Fruit
    Fruit

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Velasco R., Zharkikh A., Affourtit J. et al., The genome of the domesticated apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) Nature Genetics, 2010, 42, 10, 833
  2. ^ 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



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