(It also includes the wild fruit hawthorn described briefly above.) You would need to thoroughly chew and swallow at least 150 apple seeds before experiencing any negative effects. This includes apples, cherries, plums, almonds, and more. However, this is generally not true. Amygdalin is found in many domesticated foods, notably members of the rose family.

And we all know cyanide is poisonous, right? So logic would follow that crab apples (or the seeds at least) are unsafe to eat. They can also be used for fruit leather, pie filling, syrup, and other treats! A simple internet search will provide many recipes.Ĭrab apple seeds contain amygdalin, a compound which, when broken down in the gut, can turn into cyanide. Apple pie spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are also a tasty addition! Eat as you would apple butter.Ĭrab apples are naturally high in pectin and make excellent jelly. If sweet enough, it can be eaten as is, but it will probably require brown sugar, maple syrup, and/or honey. The resulting paste has a texture similar to apple butter. Freezing softens the fruit so as to make cooking unnecessary. Freeze as described above if they haven't already been frozen on the tree by cold weather. Start by gently washing your fruit and patting dry with towels. The easiest way to prepare crab apples is with a food mill. Larger crab apples are more efficient to pick, but if you can only find small ones and they taste good, I say go for it! Crab apples often fruit prolifically, so it's easy to fill up your basket in a short amount of time. Typically the branches are low enough that you don't need a ladder, though a step stool may be helpful with larger specimens. This fruit is simple to harvest all you need is your hands and a container. These can make it seem as though the leaves are opposite or whorled, but don't be fooled! Examining regular branches on the same tree will determine whether they are indeed alternate. However, leaves often grow on spur branches- stubby little branches with densely crowded leaves. Leaves are oval-shaped, have fine toothing, and grow alternately on the branch. Thorns may occur, but only on older wood- not on twigs. Bark is scaly, non-striped, vertically cracking, and grey, brown, or reddish.

Thankfully, it's not necessary to distinguish the actual species identifying the Malus genus is sufficient. The following guide refers solely to those trees within the Malus genus, not other species whose common name may include the words 'crab apple' but belong to a different genus.Ĭrab apples are large shrubs or small trees, generally 15 to 30 feet tall.

It can be found in thickets, forest edges, and grassy openings.Ībout 25 species of crab apple grow in the US and Canada, and they can be difficult to tell apart. There also exist hybridized varieties, which further confuses species identification. There are ten native species to the US, and one is native to Minnesota- the prairie crab apple ( Malus ioensis).

In the countryside, they often grow in fields, hedgerows, and abandoned homesteads. It is common to find crab apples in parks, boulevards, in front of businesses, in yards, and other city scapes. However, keep in mind that they are often planted ornamentally, so they are likely found outside this range. They're generally much more common in the Eastern and Central US. In Canada, they are found in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia. They aren't found in Hawaii, Idaho, Arizona, and North Dakota in the United States. They grow everywhere, but when I pick and one, I hear reactions like, 'I thought those were poisonous!' 'I didn't know crab apples grew in the city!' 'Those are APPLES? I thought they were BERRIES!'Ĭrab apples ( Malus spp.) range across most of the US and some Canada. I'm always surprised to learn how few people know about crab apples.

Crab apple color