Malus fusca (Raf.) C.K. Schneid.
Pacific crab apple (Oregon crabapple)
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Adolf Ceska     (Photo ID #5915)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Malus fusca
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Introduction

The Pacific crab apple is a small deciduous tree or shrub that is found from Alaska south to California.

Species Information

General:
Tall shrub or small tree, 2-8 (12) m tall; branches armed with stiff, sharp, thorn-like spur-shoots; young twigs curly-hairy; bark brown, rough, shredding, the older bark deeply fissured.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, lance- to egg-shaped, long-stalked, the blades 3-9 cm long, sharp-pointed at the tip, saw-toothed and often irregularly lobed, green and smooth or hairy above, paler and hairy below.
Flowers:
Inflorescences flat-topped clusters of 5 to 12 long-stalked flowers on short spur-shoots; corollas white to pink, fragrant, about 2 cm across, the petals 5, egg-shaped, 8-14 mm long; calyces hairy, 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, bent back, 3-5 mm long, deciduous; ovaries inferior; styles usually 3, smooth; stamens about 20.
Fruits:
Fleshy pomes (small apples), ellipsoid to egg-shaped, 1-1.5 cm long, green becoming yellow to reddish or purplish, 3- to 4-chambered; seeds 1 or 2 per chamber.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Yellow
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Malus fusca

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
121 0 1420
Slope Gradient (%)
6 0 120

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

208 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
5 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
357
Modal BEC Zone Class
CWH

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

CDF(47), CWH(280), ICH(10), SBS(2)

Habitat and Range

Moist to wet, open forests, streambanks, upper beaches, shoreline thickets, estuary fringes, swamps and bogs in the lowland zone; common on coastal islands and adjacent mainland; N to AK and S to CA.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Malus diversifolia (Bong.) M. Roem.
Malus fusca var. levipes (Nutt.) C.K. Schneid.
Pyrus diversifolia
Pyrus fusca Raf.
Pyrus rivularis Dougl. ex Hook.