Purple crab apple or European crab apple: how to tell them apart?
Purple crab apple and European crab apple look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
The purple crab apple keeps purple foliage at bud break but turns bronzy green during the season, which can make it look similar to the European crab apple. They can be told apart by flower colour (bright purplish-pink in the purple crab apple, versus pale pinkish-white in the European crab apple) and by the small fruits, which are decorative and persist all winter in the purple crab apple, whereas those of the European crab apple fall and are bitter/sour rather than simply decorative.
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.