YELLOW-FRUITED CRABAPPLES

YELLOW-FRUITED CRDABAPPLE

Monday,  8:30 AM.  45 degrees F at the ferry dock, 42 on the back porch.  Wind SSW, calm with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 72%.  The barometer stands at 30.4" and is steady.  Rain is predicted for Thursday and snow on Friday, and I have a lot of work to do before either. Might have to enlist some help.

   Most crabapples trees have red fruit, which can be variously sized, according to the named selection.

There are a few yellow-fruited varieties, which can be very pretty, especially when contrasted with the red fruit, or with a snowy background.

   The yellow-fruited crabapple pictured is probably the cultivar 'Bob White,' which has single white flowers in profusion, followed by small yellow crabapples.  Another nice yellow crabapple is 'Golden Hornet,' which was developed back in the 1950's.  A new variety that I have not myself seen but that has been evaluated as excellent, is 'Hozam,' which also has white flowers.  There are a few others, but not very many, considering there are about 500 crabapple species, varieties and hybrids.

   Crabapples are species and varieties of the genus Malus that bear fruit that is under 2" in diameter.  All apples, including crabapples and the edible apples, are thought to have originated in the mountains of Kazakstan.  Several species of crabapples, including the Wisconsin native ioensis, are considered native to North America, but how they got here is unexplained.  The North American species have greenish-yellow fruit, and I am guessing that they are the progenitors of the yellow-furited selections, but I don't know for sure.  The genus Malus has a very malleable and prolific genetics.