Thursday, 13 March 2014

Malus domestica: Cultivated Apple

A familiar orchard tree that produces numerous amounts of apples. This is a single specimen located in my back garden. It is a fairly small tree but they can grow up to 15m. Often found in gardens and orchards across the UK and can also be found in isolated places where apple cores have been discarded such as landfill sites.


The branches get tangled if not regularly pruned and often grow low down if not pruned. The twigs are downy and the leaves grow up to 13cm long in an elliptical shape but rounded at the base with a slightly pointed tip and toothed margin. Top of leaf slightly downy with a very downy underside. Flowers range from white to a pinky tinge often in small stalked clusters. 


Fruits normally larger than 5cm in diameter but come in a massive variety of sizes, colours ranging green-red and tastes as there are more than 2,000 types of cultivated apple that are particular to the UK. The bark is usually brown and fissured. The bole has odd features due to being left for many years before pruning bottom branches. Pruning every year will help the fruit productivity.

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