Honey bees
Nectar value
Medium
Pollen value
Medium
Pollinator plant
Crab Apple, European crab apple
Malus sylvestris
Linked agroforestry plant data
Pollinator recipe
Bee value
Who this plant supports
Agroforestry database
Complete plant information
Structure
- Vegetation layer
- Fruit tree
- Size
- S,M
- Dimensions
- 10.00 m high × 6.00 m wide
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Deciduous
Site conditions
- USDA hardiness
- 4-8
- Moisture
- Moist
- Soil
- Sandy, Loamy, Clay
- pH
- Acid, Neutral, Alkaline
- Light
- Partial shade, Sun
Uses
- Edible parts
- Fruit, Oil, Pectin, Tea
- Functions
- Dye, Oil, Pectin, Pollinator plant
- Edibility
- 3 out of 5
- Medicinal value
- 2 out of 5
This fruit can be eaten both raw and cooked and is often used for jelly, jam, and juices. The flavor improves significantly when the fruit is harvested before it is fully ripe. The fruit varies in size (about 2-4 cm in diameter) and quality. While it is usually hard and sour, there are also sweet varieties that can be eaten as fresh fruit. This fruit is rich in pectin, which can help with the gelling of jam and jelly. Pectin is also said to protect the body from radiation. The seeds can be used to produce edible oil, although this is most profitable when the fruit is used for other purposes, such as making cider, so that the seeds can be extracted from the leftovers. A very pleasant tea can be made from the leaves of this plant.