Apple Tree

Malus species

non-native

Apple trees are in the rose family along with many other types of familiar edible fruits, including pears, peaches, plums, apricots, raspberries, strawberries, and others. The original wild ancestor of the tree producing the apples most commonly sold in grocery stores came from the mountains of Central Asia. In 2017, the world produced more than 90 tons of apples, with China producing about half of the total. The flowers (blossoms) have five petals and bloom in the spring. The fruit matures in the late summer or early autumn. Apples have an important place in human culture. Most people know about the Bible story of Eve giving Adam an apple, resulting in them being banished from the Garden of Eden. However, the book of Genesis does not ever mention apples, and the confusion is probably based on a heteronym, which is a word that can be pronounced in two different ways (such as bass, dove, etc.) The word "malum" with a long "a" means "apple". With a short "a", malum means "evil" or "bad". The forbidden fruit was on the tree of "knowledge of good and evil", not "good and apples".

Identification Tools

Go Botany University of Michigan Herbarium Missouri Botanical Garden

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