The Wild Apple Behind Your Snack
Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to Central Asia. A 2010 DNA analysis confirmed it as the domesticated apple's primary ancestor. This deciduous tree grows up to 12 metres tall.
What the video says
Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to Central Asia. A 2010 DNA analysis confirmed it as the domesticated apple's primary ancestor.
This deciduous tree grows up to 12 metres tall. Its fruit reaches 7 cm in diameter, matching many modern cultivars.
Malus sieversii reproduces vegetatively by forming root suckers. These basal shoots grow from adventitious buds with identical genetic material.
Malus sieversii lives several decades in the wild.
Carl Friedrich von Ledebour first described this species in 1833. Naming it Pyrus was a bold career choice.
Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, possibly derives its name from the Kazakh word alma.
The US Agricultural Research Service cultivated Malus sieversii seedlings. Some show unusual disease resistance, including against Penicillium expansum.