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'''''Malus''''', the '''apples''', is a genus of about 30–35 species of small [[deciduous]] [[tree]]s or [[shrub]]s in the family [[Rosaceae]]. Other studies go as far as 55 species <ref>{{cite journal | author=Phipps, J.B. et aL.| title=A checklist of the subfamily Maloideae (Rosaceae)| journal=Can. J. Bot.| year=1990| volume=68| page=2209–2269 | pages=2209 | doi=10.1139/b90-288}}</ref> including the domesticated [[Apple|Orchard Apple]], or Table apple as it was formerly called (''M. domestica'', derived from ''[[M. sieversii]]'', syn. ''M. pumila''). The other species and subspecies are generally known as "wild apples", "crab apples", "crabapples" or "crabs".
The genus is native to the [[temperate]] zone of the [[Northern Hemisphere]], in [[Europe]], [[Asia]] and [[North America]].
Apple trees are small, typically 4–12 m tall at maturity, with a dense, twiggy crown. The [[leaf|leaves]] are 3–10 cm long, alternate, simple, with a serrated margin. The [[flower]]s are borne in [[corymb]]s, and have five [[petal]]s, which may be white, pink or red, and are [[Plant sexuality|perfect]], with usually red stamens that produce copious [[pollen]], and an inferior ovary; flowering occurs in the spring after 50–80 [[growing degree day]]s (varying greatly according to subspecies and cultivar). Apples require cross-pollination between individuals by [[insect]]s (typically [[bee]]s, which freely visit the flowers for both [[nectar]] and [[pollen]]); all are self-sterile, and (with the exception of a few specially developed cultivars) self-pollination is impossible, making pollinating insects essential. The [[honeybee]] and [[mason bee]] are the most effective{{Citation needed|date=September 2007}} insect pollinators of apples. ''Malus'' species, including domestic apples, [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridize]] freely. ''Malus'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of a large number of [[Lepidoptera]] species; see [[list of Lepidoptera that feed on Malus]].
The [[fruit]] is a globose [[pome]], varying in size from 1–4 cm diameter in most of the wild species, to 6 cm in ''M. sylvestris sieversii'', 8 cm in ''M. sylvestris domestica'', and even larger in certain cultivated orchard apples; among the largest-fruited cultivars (all of which originate in North America) are 'Wolf River' and 'Stark Jumbo' . The centre of the fruit contains five [[carpel]]s arranged star-like, each containing one to two (rarely three) [[seed]]s.
One species, ''Malus trilobata'' from southwest [[Asia]], has three- to seven-lobed leaves (superficially resembling a [[maple]] leaf) and with several structural differences in the fruit; it is often treated in a genus of its own, as ''Eriolobus trilobatus''.
Crabapples are widely grown as ornamental trees, grown for their beautiful flowers or fruit, with numerous [[cultivar]]s selected for these qualities and for resistance to disease.
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Malus (Greek for apple). Rosaceae. Apple. Most botanists prefer to unite the apple and pear in the one genus Pyrus; this is the method of Bentham & Hooker in "Genera Plantarum," and of Focke in Engler & Prantl's "Pflanzenfamilien," although the recent excellent work of Schneider, "Handbuch der Laubholzkunde," keeps them distinct, as do some of the recent American authors. The evident botanical distinctions between the two groups are slight, apparently not sufficient for easy or clear determination by the unprofessional student. These differences lie in the usual presence of grit-cells in the fruits of Pyrus and their usual absence in Malus: in the hypanthium of the former being nearly closed by a cushion, and in the latter free or open; in the cavity about the stem of the fruit in Malus, a contrast which does not hold in Pyrus; and in the styles of Pyrus being distinct or nearly distinct, whereas in Malus they are more or less united. The different degrees of union of the styles has been made a basis for distinguishing the named varieties of apples among themselves, and the character does not appear to be important enough to be made the basis of generic separation. It is not impossible that the pears and apples may have had a different phylogenetic origin, but this fact itself would not be sufficient in generic description.—The apples are small trees and bushes, of some fifteen to twenty species in the North Temperate Zone. In this Cyclopedia, the cultivated apple species are described under Pyrus; the names of the leading species under Malus are as follows:
Malus (Greek for apple). Rosaceae. Apple. Most botanists prefer to unite the apple and pear in the one genus Pyrus; this is the method of Bentham & Hooker in "Genera Plantarum," and of Focke in Engler & Prantl's "Pflanzenfamilien," although the recent excellent work of Schneider, "Handbuch der Laubholzkunde," keeps them distinct, as do some of the recent American authors. The evident botanical distinctions between the two groups are slight, apparently not sufficient for easy or clear determination by the unprofessional student. These differences lie in the usual presence of grit-cells in the fruits of Pyrus and their usual absence in Malus: in the hypanthium of the former being nearly closed by a cushion, and in the latter free or open; in the cavity about the stem of the fruit in Malus, a contrast which does not hold in Pyrus; and in the styles of Pyrus being distinct or nearly distinct, whereas in Malus they are more or less united. The different degrees of union of the styles has been made a basis for distinguishing the named varieties of apples among themselves, and the character does not appear to be important enough to be made the basis of generic separation. It is not impossible that the pears and apples may have had a different phylogenetic origin, but this fact itself would not be sufficient in generic description.—The apples are small trees and bushes, of some fifteen to twenty species in the North Temperate Zone. In this Cyclopedia, the cultivated apple species are described under Pyrus; the names of the leading species under Malus are as follows:
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==Cultivation==
===Propagation===
===Pests and diseases===
===Uses===
==Varieties==
[[Image:ripe crab apple fruit.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Ripe crabapple fruit]]
''[[Malus angustifolia]]''—Southern Crab<br>
''[[Malus asiatica]]''<br>
''[[Malus baccata]]''—Siberian Crabapple<br>
''[[Malus bracteata]]''<br>
''[[Malus brevipes]]''<br>
''[[Malus coronaria]]''—Sweet Crabapple<br>
''[[Apple|Malus domestica]]''—Orchard Apple<br>
''[[Malus florentina]]''<br>
''[[Malus floribunda]]''—Japanese Crabapple<br>
''[[Malus formosana]]''<br>
''[[Malus fusca]]''—Oregon Crabapple, Pacific Crabapple<br>
''[[Malus glabrata]]''<br>
''[[Malus glaucescens]]''<br>
''[[Malus halliana]]''<br>
''[[Malus honanensis]]''<br>
''[[Malus hopa]]''—Flowering Crabapple<br>
''[[Malus hupehensis]]''—Chinese Crabapple<br>
''[[Malus ioensis]]''—Prairie Crab<br>
''[[Malus kansuensis]]''<br>
''[[Malus lancifolia]]''<br>
''[[Malus ×micromalus]]''—Midget Crabapple<br>
''[[Malus prattii]]''<br>
''[[Malus prunifolia]]''<br>
''Malus pumila'' syn. ''Malus sylvestris sieversii—synonyms of ''Malus sieversii'', Asian Wild Apple or Almaty apple<br/>
''[[Malus rockii]]''<br>
''[[Malus sargentii]]''<br>
''[[Malus sieboldii]]''<br>
''[[Malus sieversii]]''—Asian Wild Apple or Almaty Apple<br>
''[[Malus sikkimensis]]''<br>
''[[Malus spectabilis]]''<br>
''[[Malus sublobata]]''<br>
''[[Malus sylvestris]]''—European Wild Apple<br>
''[[Malus toringoides]]''<br>
''[[Malus transitoria]]''<br>
''[[Malus trilobata]]''<br>
''[[Malus tschonoskii]]''<br>
''[[Malus yunnanensis]]''
==Gallery==
<gallery perrow=5>
Image:Malus sikkimensis0.jpg|''Malus sikkimensis'' fruit
Image:WinterRedFleshCrab2.jpg|Winter Red Flesh, an edible crab variety producing intense red jelly.
Image:Malus fruit.jpg|Crabapple fruit are mostly red, but some, such as this cultivar 'Golden Hornet', are yellow.
Image:Upload.png| photo
</gallery>
==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>
{{Commons|Malus}}
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
<!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 -->
<!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 -->
<!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 -->
==External links==
*{{wplink}}
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