Malus crescimannoi

Last updated

Malus crescimannoi
Malus crescimannoi.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Malus
Species:
M. crescimannoi
Binomial name
Malus crescimannoi
Raimondo

Malus crescimannoi, also known as the Raimondo apple, is a species of apple in the rose family Rosaceae. Native just to the island of Sicily it was formally described only in 2008, making it one of the most recently described species of tree in Europe. At present unknown is whether the species is a remnant of a preglacial diversity of apples in Europe, or a distinctive race of European wild apple.

Contents

Taxonomy

Although formally described in 2008, the species was recognised as different from other local apple populations much earlier. Further investigation by botanist Francesco Raimondo  [ it ] then demonstrated that the popuation is relatively uniform in its characteristics and distinct from other populations, which led to its formal description as a distinct species. Nonetheless, the species is clearly closely related to both the domestic apple ( Malus domestica ) and the European wild apple ( Malus sylvestris ), and could still turn out to be a distinctive local race of the latter. [2] The species epiphet honours Francesco Giulio Crescimanno, arborist and professor at the University of Palermo. [2]

Description

It is a small to medium-sized tree of up to 10 meters in size, that is distinguished from the European wild apple and the domestic apple by a combination of smaller flowers, more oval leaves and small (2,5 to 4 cm in diameter) pomes that are usually longer than wide. [2] [3] The flowers appear in corymbs in April to May, with petals that are pink to purple in colour. The apple fruits ripen in October to November. The leaves are hairy with long petioles. The twigs are weakly thorny. [2] [3]

Distribution and ecology

The species is endemic to Sicily, a characteristic it shares with other Sicilian woody plants such as the Sicilian fir ( Abies nebrodensis ), Mount Etna broom (Genista aetnensis) and Sicilian zelkove ( Zelkova sicula ). It is also the only species of apple endemic to Italy, the other two wild species ( Malus sylvestris , Malus florentina ) being more widely distributed in Europe. The species was originally described from the Nebrodi mountains near Floresta, but was more recently also identified in the Madonie Mountains. [4] The area is recognised as the largest remaining area of Sicilian forest and is home to a number of endemic species. [5] Malus crescimannoi occurs in plant communities dominated by oaks ( Quercus cerris , Quercus petraea ) and European beech ( Fagus sylvatica ), alongside fellow medium-sized rosaceous species such as the chequer tree ( Torminalis glaberrima ), pears ( Pyrus pyraster , P. spinosa, P. ciancioi ) and locally the closely related European crab apple, as well as hawthorns ( Crataegus monogyna , C. orientalis ), blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ) and dog rose ( Rosa canina ). It is not an uncommon member of these communities between 1000 and 1800 m altitude. [3] [4]

Status

The species is known from only two populations in two locations in the Sicilian Apennines of northern Sicily. The Italian Red List classifies it as near threatened, and it is also recognised as a threatened crop wild relative of the domestic apple. [6]

See also

Lebanese wild apple ( Malus trilobata)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosaceae</span> Rose family of flowering plants

Rosaceae, the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera.

<i>Prunus</i> Genus of trees and shrubs

Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs in the flowering plant family Rosaceae that includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, being native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and temperate and tropical regions of Asia and Africa, There are 340 accepted species. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for their fruit and for decorative purposes. Prunus fruit are drupes, or stone fruits. The fleshy mesocarp surrounding the endocarp is edible while the endocarp itself forms a hard, inedible shell called the pyrena. This shell encloses the seed, which is edible in some species, but poisonous in many others. Besides being eaten off the hand, most Prunus fruit are also commonly used in processing, such as jam production, canning, drying, and the seeds for roasting.

<i>Malus</i> Flowering genus, rose family Rosaceae

Malus is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples and wild apples.

<i>Prunus cerasifera</i> Species of plum

Prunus cerasifera is a species of plum known by the common names cherry plum and myrobalan plum. It is native to Southeast Europe and Western Asia, and is naturalised in the British Isles and scattered locations in North America. Also naturalized in parts of SE Australia where it is considered to be a mildly invasive weed of bushland near urban centers. P. cerasifera is believed to one of the parents of the Cultivated Plum, Prunus domestica perhaps crossing with the sloe, Prunus spinosa, or perhaps the sole parent. This would make it a parent of most of the commercial varieties of plum in the UK and mainland Europe - Victoria, greengages, bullace etc.

<i>Malus sieversii</i> Species of plant

Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan. It has recently been shown to be the primary ancestor of most cultivars of the domesticated apple. It was first described as Pyrus sieversii due to its similarities with pears in 1833 by Carl Friedrich von Ledebour, a German naturalist who saw them growing in the Altai Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fell Arboretum</span> Arboretum located in Normal, Illinois

The Fell Arboretum is an arboretum located across the campus of Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.

<i>Malus sylvestris</i> Species of the genus Malus

Malus sylvestris, the European crab apple, also known as the European wild apple or simply the crab apple, is a species of the genus Malus, native to Europe and western Asia. Its scientific name means "forest apple".

<i>Alsophila aescularia</i> Species of moth

Alsophila aescularia, the March moth, is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout Europe and can be a pest of fruit trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple</span> Fruit that grows on a tree

An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree. Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus Malus. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were introduced to North America by European colonists. Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures, including Norse, Greek, and European Christian tradition.

<i>Malus toringoides</i> Species of apple tree

Malus toringoides is a crabapple species in the family Rosaceae, with the common name cut-leaf crabapple.

<i>Malus trilobata</i> Species of apple tree

Malus trilobata, the Lebanese wild apple, erect crab apple or three-lobed apple tree, is a species in the family Rosaceae in the genus Malus. Some authorities place it in the segregate genus Eriolobus, as E. trilobatus.

<i>Pyrus pyraster</i> Species of tree

Pyrus pyraster, also called European wild pear, is a species of pear of the family Rosaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Apennine mixed montane forests</span> Ecoregion in Italy

The South Apennine mixed montane forests is an ecoregion in the southern Apennine Mountains of southern Italy and Sicily. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.

<i>Ditula angustiorana</i> Species of moth

Ditula angustiorana, the red-barred tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae found in Africa, Asia, Europe and North Africa. Other common names are the fruit-tree tortrix and the vine tortrix. The moth was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1811.

<i>Coleophora anatipennella</i> Species of moth

Coleophora anatipennella is a moth of the case-bearer family (Coleophoridae).

Stigmella oxyacanthella is a moth of the family Nepticulidae, found in Europe and North America. The larvae are leaf miners feeding inside the leaves of trees and shrubs, such as hawthorn, apple and pear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malinae</span> Subtribe of flowering plants

Malinae is the name for the apple subtribe in the rose family, Rosaceae. This name is required by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, which came into force in 2011 for any group at the subtribe rank that includes the genus Malus but not either of the genera Rosa or Amygdalus. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

References

  1. Kell, S.P. (2011). "Malus crescimannoi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011: e.T172071A6834301. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T172071A6834301.en . Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Sutton, J.; Dunn, N. (2021). "Malus crescimannoi - Trees and Shrubs Online". www.treesandshrubsonline.org. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  3. 1 2 3 Raimondo, Francesco Maria (2008). "A new species of Malus (Rosaceae, Maloideae) from Sicily" (PDF). Flora Mediterranea. 18: 5–10.
  4. 1 2 Di Gristina, E., F. M. Raimondo, and Cmb Salmeri. "New records of Malus crescimannoi (Rosaceae) in Sicily." BOOK OF ABSTRACT-KEYNOTE LECTURES, COMMUNICATIONS, POSTERS. IT, 2016. 48-48.
  5. Bisculm, Martina; Colombaroli, Daniele; Vescovi, Elisa; van Leeuwen, Jacqueline F. N.; Henne, Paul D.; Rothen, Julian; Procacci, Giovanni; Pasta, Salvatore; La Mantia, Tommaso; Tinner, Willy (October 2012). "Holocene vegetation and fire dynamics in the supra-mediterranean belt of the Nebrodi Mountains (Sicily, Italy)". Journal of Quaternary Science. 27 (7): 687–698. Bibcode:2012JQS....27..687B. doi:10.1002/jqs.2551. ISSN   0267-8179.
  6. Perrino, Enrico Vito; Wagensommer, Robert Philipp (February 2022). "Crop Wild Relatives (CWRs) Threatened and Endemic to Italy: Urgent Actions for Protection and Use". Biology. 11 (2): 193. doi: 10.3390/biology11020193 . ISSN   2079-7737. PMID   35205060.