How do you recognise European crab apple (Malus sylvestris)?

Leaf

Димитър Найденов / Dimìtar Nàydenov, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

European crab apple

Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill.

Also known as: Crab apple, Wild apple

Family: Rosaceae

5 to 10 m tall

Hedgerows, woodland edges, open woods

Flowering: April – May

Full sun

Part shade

Very hardy, to -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Small sour apples 2 to 3 cm across — much smaller than the cultivated varieties. The European crab apple has smaller, sour fruits, and often thorny twigs — the cultivated apple has none.

🍃 Leaves

Ovate, finely toothed, slightly downy underneath

🌸 Flowers

Pinkish-white, five petals, clusters of 3 to 6 flowers

🍎 Fruits

Small green to yellow apples, sour and hard

🪵 Bark

Greyish-brown, cracking into small square plates

🗺️ Distribution

Europe; scattered across France in hedgerows and woodland edges, wild ancestor of the cultivated apples

🐝 Value for pollinators

Pinkish-white flowering rich in nectar in spring, much visited by bees

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted in country hedgerows and conservation orchards, used as a rootstock

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Pips contain small amounts of cyanogenic glycosides, as in many Rosaceae; fruit flesh harmless

⚠️ Look-alike species

European crab apple

Malus sylvestris

Apple

Malus domestica

The European crab apple has smaller, sour fruits, and often thorny twigs — the cultivated apple has none.

European crab apple

Malus sylvestris

Purple crab apple

Malus x purpurea

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 (pale pinkish-white in the European crab apple, versus bright purplish-pink in the purple crab apple) and by the small fruits: bitter/sour and falling in the European crab apple, decorative and persisting all winter in the purple crab apple.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.