Apple

Highfield Park Tree Trail: Number 26

Latin/Botanical Name: Malus domestica

Range: Origin is unclear but likely to be Turkey, cultivated throughout the temperate world.

Height: up to 15m, but often less, it has a variety of growth habits.

Uses: As a food crop for eating, cooking or cider production, it is widely cultivated with over 7,500 cultivars.

Description: Usually a small tree with a spreading habit. The bark is grey/brown which becomes fissured with age. The leaves are simple, pinnate and usually oval with a serrated edge. Flowers are white, often strongly flushed with pink with 5 petals. Fruit is well known depending on the cultivar.

Interesting fact: Apples do not fruit well on their own, the majority require pollen from a different cultivar which flowers at the same time. A few apples are self-fertile, but even they fruit better in the presence of a pollinator. Apples are grouped into pollination groups according to when they flower.