European crab apple
The ancestor of cultivated apple trees ![🍏](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tbd/1/16/1f34f.png)
![🍎](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t3c/1/16/1f34e.png)
![🌳](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t6b/1/16/1f333.png)
![🍏](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tbd/1/16/1f34f.png)
![🍎](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t3c/1/16/1f34e.png)
![🌳](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t6b/1/16/1f333.png)
The European crab apple (Malus sylvestris) is one of the ancestors of cultivated apple trees, obtained after centuries of selections and improvements. It is a small tree with branches that are sometimes thorny. The large flowers
, with five petals, are white or pink on the outside and are very fragrant, attracting pollinating insects ![🐝](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t1f/1/16/1f41d.png)
.
![🌸](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tf0/1/16/1f338.png)
![🐝](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t1f/1/16/1f41d.png)
![🦋](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tbb/1/16/1f98b.png)
The fruits
, with a yellowish-green color, are small, tart, and hard, but they can be used for jams, preserves, and wine. They are highly sought after by birds.
![🍏](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tbd/1/16/1f34f.png)
The plant is a host for the Scarce swallowtail butterfly
(Iphiclides podalirius) and the Eyed Hawk-moth (Smerinthus ocellatus).
![🦋](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tbb/1/16/1f98b.png)
![⁉️](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tec/1/16/2049.png)
![😲](https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tad/1/16/1f632.png)
It is estimated that since the beginning of cultivation, over 10,000 cultivated varieties of apple trees have been selected, but most of them have been lost.
Photo Hans Hillewaert, via Wikimedia Commons