- Malus sylvestris sens.str. sens.str.(L.) Miller - Crab Apple - Rosaceae
(Map updated: March 2008)
Most apples encountered in Northern Ireland are the cultivated, domesticated apple (Malus domestica), but here and there, in hedgerows, are trees which appear to belong to the native wild species, the crab apple (M. sylvestris). They have smaller, yellow, sour fruits, and the leaves are much less hairy than those of M. domestica.
However, it is not always easy to separate these two very closely-related species, and most records on the map probably refer to merely small-fruited or scarcely hairy forms of M. domestica.
Typical M. sylvestris, which is almost completely hairless has, however, been confirmed from two sites to the NW and SE of Lough Neagh.
All names: Malus sylvestris sens.str. sens.str.(L.) Miller; Malus sylvestris sens.str.(L.) Miller; Malus sylvestris ssp. sylvestris Mill.; Malus pumila auct.
NBN Atlas mapping: Species account : NBN Atlas UK Species Observations database
iNaturalist: Species account : iNaturalist World Species Observations database