POMACEiE 379 



Key to Principal Species of Malus 



Calyx deciduous from the apex of fruit. 

 Leaves conduplicate in the bud (Fig. loi); petioles thick, usually about i 



inch long; flowers rose-colored, M alus floribunda (flowering crab). 

 Leaves convolute in the bud (Fig. loi); petioles slender, usually about 2 to 

 3 inches long; flowers white or very light rose-colored, Malus haccata 

 (Siberian crab). 

 Calyx persistent on the fruit. 

 Leaves glabrous, at least when mature. 



Leaves prominently lobed, thin, Malus coronaria (American crab- 

 apple). 

 Leaves toothed, but not lobed, thick, Malus anguslifolia (narrow- 

 leaved crab-apple). 

 Leaves persistently pubescent or tomentose beneath. 



Leaves narrowed at base; pomes small, i to i^ inches in diameter. 

 Pedicels slender, i to i}4 inches long, Malus ioensis (Western crab- 

 apple). 

 Pedicels stout, }i to i inch long, Malus soulardii (Soulard crab- 

 apple). 

 Leaves rounded or subcordate at base; pomes large, 2 to 4 inches in 

 diameter Malus sylvesiris (common apple). 



Malus floribunda, Flowering Crab. — This is a shrub or small tree, .often 

 thorny. The leaves are conduplicate in the bud, the flowers abundant, 

 showy, and rose-red, the fruit red, about the size of a pea, and on slender 

 stalks. It is highly ornamental, and flowers in early spring. It is a native of 

 Japan. 



M. baccata, Siberian Crab. — This crab is a small, spreading tree with leaves 

 that are convolute in the bud, abundant flowers, usually white and showy, and 

 fruit that is H to % inch in diameter, yellow or red, firm and translucent. 

 The species occurs in many forms. The orchard fruits known as "crab- 

 apples" are believed to be hybrids between this and the common apple, M. 

 sylvesiris. The Siberian crab grows wild from Siberia to Manchuria and the 

 Himalaya region. 



M. angustifolia, Narrow-leaved Crab-apple. — It is a low tree with small, 

 narrow, lanceolate leaves, few-flowered cymes, fragrant pink flowers, and 

 fruit about i inch in diameter. It is distributed from Pennsylvania to 

 Tennessee and Florida. 



M. coronaria, American .Crab-apple. — This is a small, bushy tree with 

 thorny, crooked branches, ovate or triangular-ovate, sometimes three-lobed, 

 leaves, large flowers, with a persistent calyx, and fruit that is i to i3^ inches 

 in diameter, somewhat flattened endwise, greenish-yellow, waxy, fragrant, and 



