The World of Apples

Wild apples

Malus delavayi (Franch.) B.B.Liu

Description

Malus delavayi is an evergreen tree, 3 to 10 m tall. Its leaves are lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 6–8 cm long and leathery, glossy above and densely felted with yellowish-white hairs beneath, with smooth or slightly scalloped margins. The white flowers, 2.5–3 cm across, come in clusters of three to five and have 40–45 stamens. The fruit is yellow, egg-shaped or oblong and 2–3 cm across, and keeps its sepals. It flowers in March and April and fruits in August and September1.

Range and habitat

It grows by rivers in valleys, in mixed forest and in the mountains, at 1,000–3,000 m, in western Guizhou, western Sichuan and Yunnan1,4; it is native only to China5. The IUCN Red List assessed it in 2018 as Least Concern, with a stable population5.

History

Franchet described it in 1890 as Pyrus delavayi, from specimens collected by P. J. M. Delavay in Yunnan; the one chosen in 2023 as its type was gathered on limestone mountains near Tali at 2,200 m on 14 April 18843. Schneider placed it in Eriolobus and in Docynia in 1906, and Cardot in Cydonia in 19183.

Relationship to the cultivated apple

Docynia, a small genus of evergreen and semi-evergreen trees, has been kept apart from the apples because its ovaries have three to ten ovules in each compartment, against two in Malus2,3. The relationship of the two has been disputed for two centuries3. A 2023 paper, drawing on its authors’ analysis of 797 nuclear genes and whole plastid genomes, found Docynia nested within Malus, and moved this species and the other two Docynia species it recognised into Malus3.

Where the sources disagree

  • Which genus. The Flora of China (2003) keeps it in Docynia1; Plants of the World Online follows the 2023 study in placing it in Malus3,4.
  • How many Docynia species. The Flora of China gives Docynia about five species2; the 2023 study recognises three3.
  • Yunnan. The Flora of China gives north-western Yunnan1; Plants of the World Online gives western Yunnan4.

Sources

  1. Docynia delavayi, Flora of China vol. 9, Gu Cuizhi and Stephen A. Spongberg, Flora of China, eFloras.org, 2003. Supports: the description (evergreen trees 3–10 m, leaves lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 6–8 cm, leathery, densely yellowish-white tomentose beneath, lustrous above, margin entire or slightly crenulate, flowers in clusters of 3–5, 2.5–3 cm, petals white, stamens 40–45, pome yellow, ovoid or oblong, 2–3 cm, sepals persistent, flowering March–April and fruiting August–September); river sides in valleys, mixed forests and mountainous areas at 1,000–3,000 m in W Guizhou, W Sichuan and NW Yunnan; basionym Pyrus delavayi Franchet (1890).
  2. Docynia, Flora of China vol. 9, Gu Cuizhi and Stephen A. Spongberg, Flora of China, eFloras.org, 2003. Supports: Docynia as evergreen or semi-evergreen trees with 3–10 ovules per locule; about five species in Asia, two in China, one of them endemic.
  3. Malus includes Docynia (Maleae, Rosaceae): evidence from phylogenomics and morphology, Guang-Ning Liu and others, PhytoKeys 229: 47–60, 2023. Supports: Docynia separated by 3–10 ovules per locule against two in Malus, and its relationship to Malus "controversial for two centuries"; the authors' nuclear and plastid trees, from 797 single-copy nuclear genes and plastomes, showing Docynia nested within Malus; the three currently recognised species of Docynia moved to Malus, including Malus delavayi (Franch.) B.B.Liu; Pyrus delavayi Franch. (1890), lectotype Delavay 466, collected on limestone mountains near Tali, Yunnan, at 2,200 m on 14 April 1884; Eriolobus delavayi and Docynia delavayi (Schneider, 1906) and Cydonia delavayi (Cardot, 1918); distribution China (Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan).
  4. Malus delavayi (Franch.) B.B.Liu, Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Supports: accepted name and authority, published 2023; native range "China (W. Guizhou, W. Sichuan, W. Yunnan)"; Docynia delavayi, Cydonia delavayi and Eriolobus delavayi among the synonyms.
  5. Malus delavayi, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T147621638A147621640, J. F. Ye, H. Qin, Botanic Gardens Conservation International and IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group, 2019. Supports: Least Concern, assessed 12 June 2018; population stable; native to China; forest habitat.