

Winter twig

Flowers

Fruit

Tree
|

Lower and upper surfaces

Leaf with abrupt point


|
The
leaves are oval, 3-4 cm long and often shortly pointed. They are almost
hairless with finely toothed margins. The stalk is 10-20 mm long.
ID
check
Crab apple is
a small deciduous
tree rarely over 8 m in height. Its habitat is woods, hedgerows and
scrub, on all except acid soils.
The flowers, which
are borne in clusters, are crimson in bud and pale pink to white inside
when they open. The anthers
are yellow.
The apples, when
full-sized, are about 2.5 cm across. They are green in early autumn
but do not ripen fully and become golden until late winter.
If the leaves
and flower stalks are hairy and the apples are over 3 cm across the
tree is probably of cultivated origin (Malus domestica).
Facts
-
The apples are
eaten by many birds and, when fallen, by mammals.
-
Crab-apples,
though very sour, make a splendid jelly.
-
The wood is
valued for carving and for burning.
|