Identification help please - Apples?

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Ozforager

New Member
Oct 12, 2020
4
1
40
West Midlands
Hi all, I came across a tree on my wild walk the other day covered in what looked like bright red cherries from a distance but upon closer inspection I think they are little apples. I’m attaching 3 photos (see links below). If anyone can help identify, I’d be most grateful. Also keen to know if I can eat them!
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,347
2,361
Bedfordshire
Sorry, photos do not display. Not even if I try to follow the link.

Having had a couple of similar questions recently, I can recommend Collins British Tree Guide. It won't tell you whether you can eat stuff, but it is good for identifying what it is that you are looking at. Books about forage won't be so good for identifying whether what you find is one thing or something similar, they tend to assume that you have made the identification.
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,946
7,705
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
In the UK crab apples can vary from fruit about 1.5cm diameter to 3cm or more; it can be red to yellow/green; it can be so sour you spit it out or just sweet enough to eat - apples hybridise so eagerly it's very hard to tell exactly how close to a true Malus sylvestris you are. Ms which is generally agreed to carry yellow/green fruit up to 3cm diameter and be very bitter.

But, as Chris says, your photos aren't displaying and the link doesn't work so we're just guessing :)
 

Coldfeet

Life Member
Mar 20, 2013
892
58
Yorkshire
I agree with everything said thus far. It's hard to ID specific varieties, but it's likely to be a Crab Apple of some kind or other.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,347
2,361
Bedfordshire
Look like a crab apple, in which case they are edible, but may not be palatable raw. You should be able to do something with them, cooking or turning into jelly, even if you don't like them raw.

For future reference, when taking identification photos it is useful to have something recognisable in shot for scale, and with plants, the more parts of the plant that can be recorded and presented, the better. My mum has taken literally thousands of reference shots, volunteering in an arboretum where there are a number of interesting or just strange crab apples.

They look good.

Chris
 

Ozforager

New Member
Oct 12, 2020
4
1
40
West Midlands
Look like a crab apple, in which case they are edible, but may not be palatable raw. You should be able to do something with them, cooking or turning into jelly, even if you don't like them raw.

For future reference, when taking identification photos it is useful to have something recognisable in shot for scale, and with plants, the more parts of the plant that can be recorded and presented, the better. My mum has taken literally thousands of reference shots, volunteering in an arboretum where there are a number of interesting or just strange crab apples.

They look good.

Chris
Thanks so much Chris. Will cut one open and see what they are like. If sour, I'll do as you suggest and make a jelly. Also thanks for the advise about taking photos for identification. Will remember to take photos on the tree next time.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,663
McBride, BC
We stew them to be canned with cinnamon. The best are varieties of Malus baccata.
One is just always called "jelly crab."
The genetic history of apples along the Silk Road has been established.
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,946
7,705
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk

The genetic history of apples along the Silk Road has been established.


Yep, the genetic make up of the 'eating' apple and the story of how it got to Europe and beyond is fascinating. I think I remember that modern domestic apple contains nearly 50% of the DNA from Malus sieversii (native to Kazakhstan), while 20 percent comes from the European crab apple, Malus sylvestris - the native crab apple of the UK and Europe. Even the browsing animals wait until they have started rotting on the floor before trying to eat them - yet for some inexplicable reason my Spaniel will chew on them :)
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,663
McBride, BC
There's a native crab apple species on the south coast here, Malus pacifica.
Yellow when ripe, maybe 3cm diameter. Also found in some dry paleo food caches.
Not all that many years ago, the international part of YVR expanded with a huge new terminal and runway.
Arm to arm, people walked the entire property for anything unusual at all, plant or animal.

They discovered a grove of Pacifica crab apple trees, planted in rows, no less.
Subsequently dug up with tree spades and entirely transplanted to a safe area.

I can still recall the taste of my grandmother's canned crab apples, just brown with cinnamon.
Everybody but me thought that was wonderful.
 

aris

Forager
Sep 29, 2012
211
38
UK
try the PlantNet app. Snap a picture of a leaf, fruit, flower, or bark, and it uses AI to try to identify the plant by comparing to a database of known plant images. Quite nifty.
 

Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,421
2,847
W.Sussex
Like many fruits, edible but not very good.

There is a tree called the Strawberry Tree. It’s non native but was widely planted in coastal areas in southern England. It’s Latin name is Arbutus unedo, which means:

“The species name 'unedo' is attributed to Pliny the Elder who said of the fruit “Unum Tantum Edo” (Latin) meaning “I eat only one”. ...”

Sloes, Rowan, Hawthorn, and Crabapples are in this category. Oh, and Medlar.:depressed:

With some preparation they can be good. Crabapples have loads of pectin and make a lovely jelly for cold pork, or even just on toast.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,663
McBride, BC
The one we call the "jelly crab" has been planted prolifically all over western Canada.
Spread a tarp under the tree and strip it. That crab jelly has a reputation.
Forget the toast in the morning, OK? Just sit there with the jelly jar and a spoon.
Every kid over the age of 50 needs to do that at least once when nobody is looking.
 
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Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,421
2,847
W.Sussex
The one we call the "jelly crab" has been planted prolifically all over western Canada.
Spread a tarp under the tree and strip it. That crab jelly has a reputation.
Forget the toast in the morning, OK? Just sit there with the jelly jar and a spoon.
Every kid over the age of 50 needs to do that at least once when nobody is looking.

Oh yes. Granny Heaseman (not actually our granny, but that’s what we called her) used to live across the road from us in her thatched cottage with crabapple trees in the front and made pots and pots of crabapple, and rose hip jelly every year. She’d give my sister and I a little half size jar for us to do just that. Fragrant, perfumed apple jelly, it was a great treat.

My dad still makes Thyme and apple jelly every year and applies it old school sweet tooth to pork or chicken in any form. Liberally. :)
 
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