Crab apples are one of the ancestors of the cultivated apple of which there are more than 6,000 varieties, it grows throughout Europe and can live to up to 100 years.
Mature trees can grow up to around 10 meters in height.
They have an irregular, rounded shape and a wide, spreading canopy.
With greyish brown, flecked bark, trees can become quite gnarled and twisted, especially when exposed, and the twigs often develop spines.
This 'crabbed' appearance may have influenced the tree's common name, 'crab apple'.
The brown and pointed leaf buds form on short stalks, and have downy hair on their tips, followed by glossy, oval leaves, which grow to a length of 6cm and have rounded triangular teeth.
In spring, the sweetly scented blossom is pollinated by bees and other insects, which develops into small, yellow-green apple-like fruits, around 2-3cm across. Sometimes the fruits are flushed with red or white spots when ripe.
The crab apple is one of the few host trees to the parasitic mistletoe and trees are often covered in lichens.
The leaves are food for the caterpillars of many moths, including the eyed hawk-moth, green pug, Chinese character and pale tussock.
The flowers provide an important source of early pollen and nectar for insects, particularly bees, and the fruit is eaten by birds, including blackbirds, thrushes and crows.
Mammals, including mice, voles, foxes and badgers also eat crab apple fruit.
The trees are often planted in commercial orchards as their long flowering period makes them excellent pollination partners for cultivated apples.
The fruit can be roasted and served with meat or added to ales or punches.
More commonly it is used to make crab apple jelly, and also as a natural source of pectin, for setting jams.
The pinkish wood has an even texture and makes good quality timber, and lends itself particularly well to carving and turning.
Apple wood gives off a pleasant scent when burned, and smoke from an apple wood fire gives an excellent flavour to smoked foods.
It is also a good wood for cooking fires because it burns hot and slow, without producing much flame.
Because of the plentiful blossoms and small fruit, crabapples are popular for use in bonsai culture.
In Ireland a yellow dye was extracted from the bark to colour wool.
The crab apple tree is susceptible to a variety of fungal infections, including apple scab, honey fungus and apple canker.
The bacterial disease fireblight gives the appearance of being scorched.
These threats can easily spread to cultivated apple trees and will eventually reduce the health of the tree.
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26 сен 2024
