 Malus

Malus is the taxonomic genus of apples and crabapples in Rosaceae. Its members are deciduous shrubs or trees. Their flowers have numerous stamens and several fused carpels; the mature fruit is a pome, with fleshy tissue surrounding the seed-bearing core. The genus name covers related wild and cultivated plants, whereas an individual cultivar identifies a selected cultivated form.^[ref]

A useful identification exercise follows one flower into one fruit. A transverse cut through a familiar apple exposes the chambers of the core; a longitudinal cut connects them to the stalk and persistent floral parts. The firm chamber walls and the surrounding flesh are distinguishable tissues. Comparing them with the single hard stone of a peach connects differences in mature fruit to differences in carpel arrangement.

Small ornamental crabapples and large eating apples can both belong to Malus. Size or culinary use alone therefore does not define this taxonomic genus. Floral and fruit structure provide a biological comparison across plants selected for very different purposes.^[ref]