paradise apple

(Malus pumila)

Conservation Status
paradise apple
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNA - Not applicable

SNA - Not applicable

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Paradise apple, also called common apple or just apple, is a small deciduous tree that reaches up to 50 in height at maturity.

The trunk is twisted. When grown in the open, the trunk divides near the ground into several major branches, and the crown is often as wide or wider than tall. When grown among other trees the trunk is taller and the crown is less spreading.

Older branches on mature trees develop numerous prominent spur branches.

The bark on young trees is smooth. On mature trees the bark is rough and thin, with a reddish inner bark and a gray, scaly outer bark.

The twigs are moderately stout, brown to gray, and hairy when young. There are no thorns. The pith is solid and star-shaped in cross section. The leaf scars are narrow, slightly curved, and level with the twig or only moderately raised. They have 3 bundle scars. The buds are egg-shaped and are densely covered with whitish, woolly hairs.

The leaves are deciduous, alternate, elliptical to egg-shaped, and 1½ to 4 long. They are entire, not lobed. They are rounded at the base and bluntly pointed at the tip. They are on leaf stalks that are densely covered with whitish hairs. The upper surface of the leaf blade is dark green and hairless. The lower surface is densely covered with whitish hairs. The margins are finely toothed.

The flowers are large, up to 1¼ wide. They appear after the leaves unfold in the spring. They are borne in umbrella-like clusters (umbels) on short, spur branches. There are 5 green sepals, 5 white petals tinged with pink, and 15 to 50 stamens with yellow anthers. The stamens are shorter than the petals.

The fruit is a fleshy, globe-shaped to somewhat egg-shaped pome, 2 to 4 in diameter. Fruit of naturalized trees is smaller than fruit of those grown in cultivation because the latter are propagated by grafting. Naturalized trees produce fruit more than 1½ in diameter. The fruit is green at first, turning yellow to red when it ripens in the mid- to late summer. The seed-bearing core or the pome is divided into 3 to 5 chambers. Each chamber normally contains 2 seeds.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

Up to 50

 
     
 

Record

 
 

No records are kept for non-native species.

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

White tinged with pink

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

The flowers are pink in bud but usually white when expanded, sometimes pink.

Prairie crabapple (Malus ioensis) flowers are pink but sometimes fade to white.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Roadsides, railroads, shores, fields, wooded areas.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

Late April to early May

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 22, 29, 30.

The counties in light green reflect citizen science sightings posted on iNaturalist. Some if not most of those include trees in people’s yards, which are not “outside of cultivation.”

 
  5/24/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native to eastern Europe. Introduced in colonial times. Widely cultivated. Occasionally escaped.

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Uncommon

Most occurrences of this tree outside of cultivation are probably the result of discarded apple cores by humans.

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Rosanae  
 

Order

Rosales (roses, elms, figs, and allies)  
 

Family

Rosaceae (rose)  
  Subfamily Amygdaloideae  
  Tribe Maleae  
  Subtribe Malinae  
 

Genus

Malus (apples)  
  Section Malus  
       
 

Some sources use the name Malus domestica for the apple tree. For other sources, the preferred name for both the cultivated and naturalized tree is Malus pumila.

 
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

 

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Malus communis

Malus domestica

Malus sylvestris

Pyrus malus

Pyrus pumila

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

apple

common apple

paradise apple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Pome

A fruit with a central seed bearing core enclosed in thick flesh, e.g., an apple or pear.

 

Umbel

A flat-topped or convex, umbrella-shaped cluster of flowers or buds arising from more or less a single point.

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Plant

 
    paradise apple   paradise apple  
           
    paradise apple      
           
 

Leaves

 
    paradise apple   paradise apple  
           
 

Flowers

 
    paradise apple   paradise apple  
           
 

Infructescence

 
    paradise apple      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Malus domestica
Susanne Wiik
 
  Malus domestica  
 
About

Apple, Epler

 
  Wild Apples
Andree Reno Sanborn
 
  Wild Apples  

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Malus domestica Apple Trees
gardenvilletv
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Oct 24, 2010

Old mature apple trees, fruiting well

   
  MALUS DOMESTICA
vladiraz
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Apr 23, 2009

Apfelblüten am 23-April-2009

In Emmenbrücke

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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  Carol Whittaker
9/29/2023

Location: New Hamburg Ontario Canada

It has been growing beside my fence since I moved into my house eight years ago, never knew what it was until today.

 
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
   

 

 

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