Malus florentina, the Florentine crabapple or hawthorn-leaf crabapple, is a species of apple in the rose family (Rosaceae). It is native to Italy, the southern Balkan Peninsula and a limited area in northern Anatolia, and is occasionally grown elsewhere as an ornamental tree. The species' taxonomy has been unclear for decades, and it was at times considered to be a natural hybrid between the chequer tree (Torminalis glaberrima) and the European wild apple (Malus sylvestris). The species is rare, but its overall population structure and conservation status are unknown.
Malus florentina was initially described in 1806 as a kind of hawthorn, Crataegus florentina, by the Florentine botanist Attilio Zuccagni (1754–1807), based on a specimen collected on Monte Cuccioli near Florence.[3][2] Since then, the species has been classified in as many as eight different genera, namely Cormus, as Cormus florentina(Zuccagni) Decne. , Eriolobus, as Eriolobus florentinus(Zuccagni) Stapf , Mespilus, as Mespilus florentina(Zuccagni) Bertol., Pyrus, as Pyrus florentina(Zuccagni) Targ.Tozz. , Sorbus, as Sorbus florentina(Zuccagni) K.Koch, and Torminaria, as Torminaria florentina(Zuccagni) M.Roem. Some authors also treated it as a subspecies of the closely related Lebanese wild apple (Malus trilobata). Additionally, the species was at times considered to have originated from a hybridisation between the chequer tree (Torminalis glaberrima) and the European wild apple (Malus sylvestris), a view that was widely accepted still in the early 2000s.[4][5] Prominently, the Polish dendrologistKazimierz Browicz[pl] (1925–2009) held this view, and in 1970 classified the species in the nothogenus×Malosorbus, as ×Malosorbus florentina(Zuccagni) Browicz. While he emphasised the species' lobed leaves, this characteristic is also present in some North American and East Asian species, prompting Sutton and Dunn (2021) to remark: "It is tempting to speculate that this suggestion would never have been made if the tree were native to Sichuan rather than southern Europe."[6][2]
Modern taxonomy and evolution
Since then, studies have firmly placed the species within Malus. Notably, a 2008 study by Qian et al.reviewed the species using morphological, phytochemical and molecular evidence, coming to the conclusion that it is a primary species of Malus, with no indication of a hybrid origin.[7] Accordingly, as of October 2025, Plants of the World Online includes the species in Malus.[2] Although its exact intrageneric relationship is yet unclear,[6] studies based on plastid and nuclear DNA suggest that M. florentina is closely related to Malus trilobata from the eastern Mediterranean, often placing both species together on a branch that also contains the North American species prairie crabapple (Malus ioensis), southern crabapple (M. angustifolius), and sweet crabapple (M. coronaria).
In Liu et al. (2022), this branch, called Clade II, is shown to either be basal to the rest of Malus, in nuclear phylogenies, or to be sister to Pourthiaea and thus closer to other Maloideae such as Sorbus and Aronia than to Malus proper, in plastid phylogenies.[8] This discordance between nuclear and plastid phylogenies, the authors proposed, could be due to incomplete lineage sorting, allopolyploidy, or hybridisation, all of which were important mechanisms underlying the evolution of the Maloideae.[8][9] The authors proposed hybridisation as the most likely scenario, whereby the ancestor of Clade II hybridised with the ancestor of Pourthiaea, so that all its descendants, including M. florentina, inherited Pourthiaea's chloroplast DNA through a process known as chloroplast capture.[10][11] On the other hand, in a 2017 study by Savelyeva et al., these relationships were not supported, and two M. florentina samples did not even cluster together in one clade.[12][3]
According to Liu et al. (2022), Malus originated in North America and East Asia, most likely in the middle Eocene, around 43.58 million years ago.[8] Also according to this study, Clade II, the clade M. florentina belongs to, originated in western North America and subsequently spread to Europe and western Asia in the late Eocene via the North Atlantic Land Bridge. The split between Malus florentina and its sister M. trilobata, the two representatives of this clade in western Eurasia, was estimated to have occurred already in the early Oligocene, 32.81 million years ago.[13]Malus antiqua, a species with lobed leaves from the Pliocene (5.33–2.58 Mya) of Europe, recovered in Romania, is thought to be ancestral to M. florentina or M. trilobata.[14][8]
Traditionally, M. florentina was included in the sectionSorbomalus, alongside a number of other species with lobed leaves, including M. sieboldii, M. transitoria, M. kansuensis and M. fusca,[15] but the monophyly of this section is not supported by phylogenetic analyses.[16][12] Alternatively, Qian et al. (2008) proposed a classification as the only species in the section Florentinae.[7] However, in a comprehensive 2022 revision of the genus Malus, Li et al. argued against the use of these traditional morphological groupings, due to their generally poor conformity with relationships established through phylogenetic studies.[3]
Etymology
Both the botanical and the common name refer to the municipality of Florence, Italy,[6] which lies within the species' natural distribution and has a major history of botanical collection in its famous Renaissance gardens. The other common name hawthorn-leaf refers to its distinct toothed[17] leaf shape, which closely resembles that of a hawthorn.
Description
Malus florentina tree is a medium-sized deciduous, upright and initially vase shaped or pyramidal, but later rounded tree, growing up to 8 by 6 metres (26 by 20 feet) tall and wide. It may, however, also stay shrubby.[6][17] A large tree recorded in the Ibar valley in Kosovo in 2001 was estimated to be over 7 metres (23ft) tall and 80-90 years old, with a trunk girth closely approaching 90 centimetres (35in).[18] The leaves are hawthorn-like and serrated, with 3-5 lobes on each side, and positioned on downy leaf stalks 0.5–2 centimetres (0.20–0.79in) long. They are dark green and virtually glabrous above, grey-white and densely hairy below, 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57in) long and 3–4 centimetres (1.2–1.6in) wide.[19]
The white flowers are 1.5–2 centimetres (0.59–0.79in) in diameter, growing in loose clusters of between 2 and 7, and the tree blooms in early summer.[17][6][20] The species is monoecious, having hermaphrodite flowers.[19] The fruits grow on long (around 3 centimetres (1.2in) in length) fruit stalks. They are small (around 1 centimetre (0.39in) and round, becoming red as they ripen, and are reported to drop to the ground when ripe.[6] The seeds ripen from October to November, and, since they contain hydrogen cyanide, can be toxic in large doses.[21] The bark is dark and fissured with age, but may also be light, flaky and smooth on young individuals.[6][22] The species is cold hardy to RHS H6 and USDA hardiness zones 4–8, and is not frost tender.[6]
Malus florentina has a disjunct, amphi-adriatic[24] distribution, being distributed on both sides of the Adriatic Sea, on the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula. Additionally, a few localities have also been reported from northern Anatolia, particularly from the Marmara region.[5] In this respect, it bears a similarity to other woody species such as Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto), Mount Tabor oak (Q. ithaburensis), Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii), and Oriental hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis). A general, albeit outdated,[20][25] distribution map is available.[5] While some authors suggest that the species is common in northern Italy[12] and North Macedonia,[20] researchers generally agree that it is a comparably rare, and probably overall declining species.[19][20][26] Throughout its range, M. florentina occurs as a scattered component of temperate and submediterranean oak woodlands and scrub, preferring moist soil.[6][19]
The species' pollination mechanism is not known, but other Malus are pollinated by insects, especially bees.[28] The species bears small, red fruit, and is reported to be dispersed by birds.[20]M. florentina, like other Maloideae,[29] is light-demanding, requiring an open canopy to thrive.[19] Canopy closure leads to the reduction or absence of flowers and fruits, and may lead to the absence of regeneration and the loss of trees.[18][19] For example, in the former coppice woodlands surrounding Chiaravalle Abbey, Fiastra, Marche, now part of a protected area, the species is thought to have been aided by traditional management, but is now strictly limited to local canopy openings along pathways, forest edges and gaps.[19]
Gallery
Malus florentina buds in March
Malus florentina leaf in April
Malus florentina leaf underside in April
Young Malus florentina growth in April
Malus florentina blossom
Malus florentina fruit
Status and conservation
Malus florentina is generally considered to be a rare species, however, since its overall population trend is insufficiently known, it was most recently (2017) assessed as data deficient (DD).[1] Local evidence, however, suggests that the species is declining. For example, it appears to be in regression in Marche, Italy, where some populations have recently disappeared as a result of canopy closure.[26][19] The species can be propagated using microcuttings.[30][31]
Uses
The fruit of the species can be eaten raw or cooked. When bletted, it has a mealy texture with a soft acidic flesh, and is refreshing in small quantities.[21] Although the species has been noted for its ornamental value, including its relatively late, attractive bloom, its autumn colour, and its bark, it is only rarely cultivated.[6] Nonetheless, M. florentina is hardy in temperate Europe, with specimens growing in several collections as far north as Trondheim, Norway.[6] The species is also relatively indifferent with respect to soil and soil pH, but prefers moist or wet soil that is well drained. It also prefers a sunny position, but can also manage when semi-shaded.[21][17]M. florentina is resistant to powdery mildew,[32] but susceptible to fire blight, particularly in North America.[6]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
