Niedzwetzky's apple | |
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Illustration of Malus niedzwetzkyana from a 1921 botanical compendium | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Genus: | Malus |
Species: | M. niedzwetzkyana |
Binomial name | |
Malus niedzwetzkyana | |
Malus niedzwetzkyana, or Niedzwetzky's apple, is a kind of apple native to certain parts of China, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan noted for its red-fleshed, red-skinned fruit and red flowers. Some botanists consider it a distinct species, [1] while others have argued it is simply an unusual variety of the common apple, Malus pumila . [2] [3] [4]
Niedzwetzky's apple is rare, often growing as an isolated tree, and is endangered throughout its range by agricultural encroachment and logging operations. [2] Only 111 specimens of the tree are known to survive in Kyrgyzstan. The conservation group Fauna & Flora International is working to save and restore the species in that country, and has put M. niedzwetzkyana on its endangered list, brought it under its Global Trees Campaign, and planted over 1000 saplings in area forests in 2010 and 2011 [5] [6]
The tree was introduced to the West c. 1890 by Georg Dieck at the Zöschen Arboretum, Germany, who grew it from seed sent by the Russian lawyer and amateur botanist Vladislav E. Niedzwiecki living in exile in Turkestan; Dieck later donated specimens to the Späth nursery, which exported the tree to the USA c. 1896. [7]
The tree is winter-hardy and drought-resistant, growing 5–8 m (16–26 ft) tall in the wild (<5 m under cultivation), with a globular crown and very dark purplish-brown bark.[ citation needed ]
New shoots are dark purple, and leaves range from purplish when new to dark green when mature. In the spring it puts out intensely magenta-rose flowers. The skin of the fruit is deep red to purple-red (sometimes with a bluish, waxy bloom) and the flesh ranges from light to bright red, with dark reddish-brown seeds. [8]
The fruit is edible and not very tart, with dry, somewhat chewy flesh. [9] In the Kashgar region of China near the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan borders, it is known as 'kisil alma': 'red apple'. [9]
Malus niedzwetzkyana has been used to breed some modern red-leaved, red-flowered, and red-fruited apples and crabapples. It is believed to be the ancestor of Surprise, a pink-fleshed apple that was brought to the United States by German immigrants around 1840 and was later used by the horticulturist Albert Etter to breed some 30 pink- and red-fleshed varieties, the best-known of which is Pink Pearl. [10] Another horticulturist, Niels Ebbesen Hansen, encountered M. niedzwetzkyana in the Ili valley, where he also met Niedzwetzky, in what was then the Russian region of Turkestan (but now Kazakhstan) during his 1897 expedition. Hansen began two breeding programs based on this unusual fruit, one aimed at developing a cold-hardy cooking and eating apple, and the other aimed at developing ornamental crabapples. His efforts resulted in the Almata apple and the Hopa crabapple, among other varieties. Some of these apples, as well as M. niedzwetzkyana itself, are being used for small-scale commercial production of rosé apple ciders. [11]
Malus is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples and wild apples.
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.
The 'Pink Pearl' apple is a pink-fleshed apple cultivar developed in 1944 by Albert Etter, a northern California breeder. It is a seedling of 'Surprise', another pink-fleshed apple that is believed to be a descendant of Malus niedzwetskyana.
Syzygium malaccense is a species of flowering tree native to tropical Asia and Australia. It is one of the species cultivated since prehistoric times by the Austronesian peoples. They were carried and introduced deliberately to Remote Oceania as canoe plants. In modern times, it has been introduced throughout the tropics, including many Caribbean countries and territories.
The Siberian elm cultivar Ulmus pumila 'Pinnato-ramosa' was raised by Georg Dieck, as Ulmus pinnato-ramosa, at the National Arboretum, Zöschen, Germany, from seed collected for him circa 1890 in the Ili valley, Turkestan by the lawyer and amateur naturalist Vladislav E. Niedzwiecki while in exile there. Litvinov (1908) treated it as a variety of Siberian elm, U. pumilavar.arborea but this taxon was ultimately rejected by Green, who sank the tree as a cultivar: "in modern terms, it does not warrant recognition at this rank but is a variant of U. pumila maintained and known only in cultivation, and therefore best treated as a cultivar". Herbarium specimens confirm that trees in cultivation in the 20th century as U. pumilaL. var. arboreaLitv. were no different from 'Pinnato-ramosa'.
Malus floribunda, common name Japanese flowering crabapple, Japanese crab, purple chokeberry, or showy crabapple, originates from Japan and East Asia. It may be a hybrid of M. toringo with M. baccata, in which case it would be written as Malus × floribunda.
Malus coronaria, also known by the names sweet crabapple or garland crab, is a North American species of Malus (crabapple).
Malus fusca, with the common names Oregon crabapple and Pacific crabapple, is a species of crabapple native to western North America.
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.
Malus baccata is an Asian species of apple known by the common names Siberian crab apple, Siberian crab, Manchurian crab apple and Chinese crab apple. It is native to many parts of Asia, but is also grown elsewhere as an ornamental tree and for rootstock. It is used for bonsai. It bears plentiful, fragrant, white flowers and edible red to yellow fruit of about 1 cm diameter.
Malus florentina is a species of apple known by the common names Florentine crabapple and hawthorn-leaf crabapple. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula and Italy, and it is grown elsewhere as an ornamental tree.
Malus prunifolia is a species of crabapple tree known by the common names plumleaf crab apple, plum-leaved apple, pear-leaf crabapple, Chinese apple and Chinese crabapple. It is native to China, and is grown elsewhere for use as an ornamental tree or as rootstock. It reaches from between 3 and 8 meters tall and bears white flowers and yellow or red fruit.
Malus sikkimensis is a rare species of apple known by the common name Sikkim crabapple. Its Chinese name is xi jin hai tang (锡金海棠). It is native to China, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, Tibet and parts of India, where it is threatened due to loss of habitat.
Malus spectabilis is a species of crabapple known by the common names Asiatic apple, Chinese crab, HaiTang and Chinese flowering apple.
Niels Ebbesen Hansen was a Danish-American horticulturist, botanist, and agricultural explorer for the United States Department of Agriculture and the state of South Dakota. He searched the harsh environments of northern Scandinavia, Siberia, Manchuria, and the dry steppes of the Volga for plant stock that could flourish on the upper Great Plains.
'Surprise' is a pink-fleshed apple that is the ancestor of many of the present-day pink/red-fleshed apples bred by American growers.
The Ulmus pumila cultivar 'Aurescens' was introduced by Georg Dieck at the National Arboretum, Zöschen, Germany, circa 1885. Dieck grew the tree from seed collected in the Ili valley, Turkestan by the lawyer and amateur naturalist Vladislav E. Niedzwiecki while in exile there. Dieck originally named the tree U. pinnato-ramosaf.aurescens.
Vladislav E. Niedzwiecki was a Russian lawyer and amateur naturalist.
Applecrabs are various hybrids between crabapples and apples. They are bred for varying reasons, including disease resistance and use in cold climates because they are often hardier than apple trees and their fruit has the good eating qualities of apples.
Malus PERPETU 'Evereste' is an ornamental cultivar of crabapple that was developed by INRA in 1974 and is registered under their trademark with the name Malus perpetu.