Leaf
Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Purple crab apple

Malus x purpurea (A.Barbier) Rehder
Also known as: Purple crabapple
Family: Rosaceae
4 to 8 m tall
Planted as a specimen or in avenues, ordinary free-draining soils
Flowering: April – May
Full sun
Hardy, to about -20°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

The purple crab apple is a horticultural hybrid derived from crosses between several Asian ornamental crab apples — its purple foliage at bud break and its bright pink blossom make it one of the most widely planted flowering trees in French parks and gardens. 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.
🍃 Leaves
Deciduous, ovate, dark purple at bud break, turning bronzy green
🌸 Flowers
Bright purplish-pink, in dense clusters, very free-flowering
🍎 Fruits
Small decorative red-purple apple, persisting on the tree for part of the winter
🪵 Bark
Greyish-brown, cracking with age
🗺️ Distribution
Horticultural hybrid; widely planted in France as an ornamental tree
🐝 Value for pollinators
Spring flowering rich in nectar, extremely attractive to bees
✂️ Horticultural uses
Ornamental tree planted for its purple foliage and spectacular bright pink blossom, with decorative small fruits in autumn

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Small fruits edible but very sour, seldom eaten fresh; no notable toxicity

⚠️ Look-alike species

Purple crab apple
Purple crab apple
Malus x purpurea
European crab apple
European crab apple
Malus sylvestris

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.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

Japanese cherry
Japanese cherry
Prunus serrulata
European crab apple
European crab apple
Malus sylvestris
Rowan
Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia
Whitebeam
Whitebeam
Sorbus aria

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

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