7. Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill.

Figs 21–22

Gardeners Dictionary, 8 th Ed.: Malus no. 1 (Miller 1768).

Pyrus malus var. sylvestris L., Species Plantarum Vol. 1: 479 (Linnaeus 1753). – Malus communis var. sylvestris (L.) Desf., Histoire des Arbres et Arbrisseaux Vol. 2: 140 (Desfontaines 1809), nom. illeg. – Malus sylvestris Moench, Methodus Plantas Horti Botanici et Agri Marburgensis Vol. 2: 682 (Moench 1794, non Miller 1768), nom. illeg. – Pyrus sylvestris Gray, A Natural Arrangement of British Plants Vol. 2: 562 (Gray 1821).

– Type: SWEDEN • Uppsala, locality unknown; s.d.; Linnaeus s.n.; lectotype: LINN [LINN-897.3]!, here designated.

Malus acerba Mérat, Nouvelle Flore des Environs de Paris Vol. 1: 187 (Mérat 1812) [ Malus acerta Mérat, spelling variant], nom. inval. – Pyrus acerba DC., Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis Vol. 2: 635 (de Candolle 1825).

– Type: FRANCE • Ile-de-France, Fontainebleau Forest; fl, fr; s.d.; Mérat s.n.; lectotype: P [P04345284]!, here designated.

Malus sylvestris var. microphylla Browicz, Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh 31 (2): 323 (Browicz 1972a).

– Type: TURKEY • Sulucre, about 30 km, NW of Ama Forest remnants, grey soil, alt. 630 m; 10 Jul. 1963; M. Zohary 10413; holotype: E [E00326781], photo !

Malus bulgarica Dimitrov, Nauchni Trudove, Vissh Selskostopanski Institut Vasil Kolarov. Plovdiv 25 (4): 33 (31‒33), figs 1‒2 (Dimitrov 1980), nom. inval. – Malus sylvestris var. bulgarica (Dimitrov) Ponomar ., Sbornik nauchnykh Trudov po prikladnoi botanike, genetike i selektsii 146: 6 (Ponomarenko 1992), nom. inval.

Malus rhodopaea Dimitrov, Nauchni Trudove, Vissh Selskostopanski Institut Vasil Kolarov. Plovdiv 25 (4): 36 (34‒36), figs 3‒4 (Dimitrov 1980), nom. inval. – Malus sylvestris var. rhodopaea (Dimitrov) Ponomar ., Sbornik nauchnykh Trudov po prikladnoi botanike, genetike i selektsii 146: 6 (Ponomarenko 1992), nom. inval.

Examined specimens

AUSTRIA – locality unknown; s.d.; fl; A. Keraer 2438; PE.

BELGIUM – Namur • Between Yvoir and Godinne; 10 Oct. 1979; fr; D.K. Ferguson 1168; PE • ibid.; 18 May 1979; fl; D.K. Ferguson 1145; PE .

DENMARK – Silkeborg • Gjessø; 4 Jun. 1980; fl; I. Nielsen, P. Bro Christensen, T. Hvid & L.B. Petersen 851; PE, IBSC . – Århus • Søby Fredskov; 28 May 1978; fl; P. Frost-Olsen 24, 1504; PE, IBSC, NAS.

FRANCE – 60 Oise • Senlis; 22 May 1926; st; P. Jovet 21503; P • ibid.; 30 Sep. 1925; st; P. Jovet 20306; P • ibid.; 8 Oct. 1925; st; P. Jovet 20303; P • ibid.; 6 Apr. 1926; st; P. Jovet 22359; P . – 75 Paris • 18e arr.; 30 Sep. 1944; st; P. Jovet 75018; P.

GERMANY – Thüringen • Kyffhäuser; 7 Sep. 1960; fr; Danert 506; KUN .

HUNGARY – Austria inferior • Vindobonensi; s.d.; fl; A. Kerner 2438; PE [01702120].

POLAND – Lesser Poland • Dołęga near Szczurowa; 21 Apr. 2009; fl; J. Żelazny s.n.; PE .

UNITED STATES – Illinois • Lisle, cultivated; 6 Aug. 1999; st; H. Oleari 8986 V99; KUN [KUN0937826] . – New York • Westchester, cultivated; 8 May 1996; fl; J.B. Walker 1874; NY .

Description

Small tree or shrub, 4‒10 m high, rarely 13 m. Branches terete, puberulous or glabrous when young. Leaves petiolate, petiole ca 2.5 cm long, puberulous or glabrous. Lamina 6.5 × 4.3 cm, oval to orbicular, base rounded, rarely cuneate, equilateral, apex usually acute, rarely obtuse or retuse, margin crenate to serrulate, blade glabrous. Inflorescence umbellate, with 2‒5 flowers. Pedicel ca 1.9 cm long, puberulous at base. Hypanthium puberulous or glabrous. Sepals triangular, abaxially glabrous, adaxially puberulous, persistent. Petals ca 1.3 × 0.8 cm, white or pink, rarely red or mauve, obovate. Stamens ca 20, unequal, yellow. Styles 5, longer than stamens, glabrous. Pome solitary, about 20 g, ca 2.0‒ 3.5 cm in diameter, subglobose, yellow. Carpopodium ca 1.8 cm long, glabrous.

Phenology

Flowers from May to June. Mature fruits from October to November.

Habitat

Terrestrial, seasonally green, growing at the edge of mixed forests or broad-leaf forests on south slopes or floodplains.

Distribution

Austria, Belgium, British Isles, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Moldova (Kishinev), Poland, Russia (Karel’skij peresheyek, Vologda, Perm’, Ufa, Ural’sk, Volgograd), Ukraine (Mariupol), Scandinavian Peninsula, Spain, and Switzerland (Fig. 21).

Chromosome numbers

2n = 34, 51.