Malus floribunda, common name Japanese flowering crabapple,[1][2] Japanese crab,[3] purple chokeberry,[2] or showy crabapple,[2] 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.[4]

Malus floribunda
Malus floribunda blossom
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Malus
Species:
M. floribunda
Binomial name
Malus floribunda

Description edit

 
Red floribunda fruits
 
Yellow floribunda fruits

Malus floribunda forms a round-headed, deciduous tree up to 12 m (39 ft) in height, with narrow leaves on arching branches. The flowers, appearing in spring, are white or pale pink, opening from crimson buds. The red or yellow fruit is about 1 cm in diameter, ripening in autumn.[5]

Resistance edit

Tree has good disease resistance to apple scab and powdery mildew.[6]

The initiators of the PRI disease resistant apple breeding program have discovered that Malus floribunda has resistance to the apple scab and founded the program to introduce this VF gene into cultivated apples. Their work had been progressing with great success.[7]

Awards edit

This crabapple species is considered one of the best crabapples for form and flower[8] and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "GardenWeb's HortiPlex Plant Database, search results for: Malus". Archived from the original on April 4, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Malus floribunda". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  3. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. ^ "Malus × floribunda". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b "RHS Plant Selector - Malus floribunda". Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Cal Poly". Archived from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  7. ^ "Vf scab resistance of Malus". Archived from the original on 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  8. ^ University of Florida

External links edit

  Media related to Malus × floribunda at Wikimedia Commons