Malus florentina
Florentine crab; Hawthorn-leaf crabapple
Description
Malus florentina is a small tree, sometimes a shrub, up to 6 m tall, conical when young and rounded later. Its leaves are ovate with three to five irregular lobes on each side, dark green above and grey-white and felted beneath, much like a hawthorn’s. The white flowers, 1.5–2 cm across, come in loose clusters of two to seven in early summer, typically May or June. The sepals fall before the fruit ripens; the fruit is roundish, about 1 cm across, and turns from yellow to red. The leaves can colour orange and red in autumn1.
Range and habitat
It grows wild in Italy, the Balkans and Türkiye: in Albania, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye according to the IUCN Red List2, with Bulgaria added by Plants of the World Online4. Its name recalls Florence, which lies within its natural range1.
The IUCN Red List assessed it in 2017 as Data Deficient worldwide2, as did the European assessment of 20113.
History and relationships
The Florentine botanist Attilio Zuccagni described it in 1806 as a hawthorn, Crataegus florentina, and Camillo Schneider moved it to Malus in 19061,4. Its unusual look has kept botanists uncertain. Several suggested that it was a hybrid between the crab apple or orchard apple and the wild service tree, Sorbus torminalis, most recently Browicz in 1970, who named it × Malosorbus florentina. Qian and colleagues countered this in 2008, showing that its form fits within the range of other apples once American and Chinese species are taken into account, and molecular studies all place it within Malus1. It was grown at Kew by 1886, from Florence. In gardens it is valued for its late flowers and autumn colour, though in North America it is said to resist disease poorly, especially fire blight1.
Where the sources disagree
- Which genus. Some botanists place it, with Malus trilobata, in a separate genus, Eriolobus; there is no consensus5. Plants of the World Online and the 2022 revision of Malus accept it as Malus florentina4,6.
- Hybrid or species. The hybrid theory gave it the name × Malosorbus florentina; later morphological and molecular work treats it as a true apple1.
- Countries. Plants of the World Online includes Bulgaria, which the IUCN Red List does not list2,4.
Sources
- Malus florentina, Julian Sutton and Nick Dunn, Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society), 2021. Supports: the description (small tree to 6 m, leaves with 3–5 lobes each side, grey-white tomentose beneath, flowers 1.5–2 cm in early summer, sepals falling before the fruit ripens, fruit about 1 cm, yellow becoming red); white flowers in May or June and autumn colour; described as Crataegus florentina by Attilio Zuccagni in 1806; the combination Malus florentina by Camillo Schneider in 1906; suggestions of a hybrid with the wild service tree and the name × Malosorbus florentina (Browicz 1970); Qian and colleagues (2008) countering this; molecular studies placing it within Malus; at Kew by 1886 from Florence; poor disease resistance in North America; the common name Florentine crab.
- Malus florentina, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T172114A64115951, B. Wilson, 2018. Supports: Data Deficient, assessed 10 October 2017, global scope; native to Albania, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye; the common name hawthorn-leaf crab apple.
- Malus florentina (Europe assessment), The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T172114A6827435, S. P. Kell, 2011. Supports: Data Deficient in Europe, assessed 4 March 2011.
- Malus florentina (Zuccagni) C.K.Schneid., Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Supports: accepted name and authority, published 1906; basionym Crataegus florentina Zuccagni; native range "SE. Europe to Türkiye" (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, NW Balkan Peninsula, Türkiye); Eriolobus florentinus and × Tormimalus florentina among its synonyms.
- Malus trilobata, Julian Sutton and Nick Dunn, Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society), 2021. Supports: M. florentina sometimes placed, like M. trilobata, in the genus Eriolobus, without consensus; a molecular study suggesting it may be allied to M. trilobata.
- A revision of the genus Malus Mill. (Rosaceae), Jing-chao Li, Jian-quan Liu and Xin-fen Gao, European Journal of Taxonomy 853: 1–127, 2022. Supports: M. florentina accepted as one of 26 wild species.