Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Malus baccata

Other names

Siberian Crab Apple, Manchurian Crab Apple and Chinese

Crab Apple

Family

Rosaceae

Flowering season

April to May

English distribution

It is thinly scattered throughout the country'

mainly in lowland areas.

For a map see the BSBI online atlas for:

Siberian Crab

Habitat

It is a neophyte introduced from Northwest Asia in the

1780s but not seen in the wild before the 1980s.

It is planted in amenity areas, parkland and alongside

roads.

In the wild it has been found in waste ground, woodland,

grassland, relic gardens and hedgerows.

It may be spread by birds but is not often naturalised.

Description

Siberian Crab is a shrub or smallish tree growing up to 13m.

Flowers are in largish groups (corymbs).

Flowers have 5 oval, white petals which are separated from

each other.

There are up to 20 stamens with white filanebts and creamy-

white anthers.

There are 4 or 5 pale green styles with white capitate stigmas.

There are 2 ovules with dark seeds..

Fruits are fleshy and bright red on maturity in September.

They hang like cherries on pedicels up to 8cm.

Sepals are long and lanceolate.

Leaves are narrowly oval, slightly toothed, up to 8cm and on

petioles up to 5cm.

The trunk and branches are grey/brown with peeling bark..