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OREGON CRAB APPLE (Malus diversifolia)
PRAIRIE CRAB APPLE (Malus ioensis)
Other names: wild crab, crabapple, crab

POOR

Oregon crab apple grows in dense thickets along creek bottoms of the Pacific slope, from northwestern California to the Kenai peninsula in Alaska. The prairie crab apple is a tree of the central states and Great Lakes region, found in pastures, along streams and edges of the forest. Both species are slow growing, hard, with thin bark and thick sapwood. They seldom exceed 8" or 10" diameter and probably do not live beyond 50 years of age. These trees are usually considered an undesirable, thorny, brush when growing in the wild. Both trees decay rapidly once dead and on the ground. 

Very few original crab apple bearing trees have been found, probably due to rapid decay of the blaze and the dense growth making identification of the bearing tree very difficult. The few that have been found were completely rotted out and identification could only be ascertained after positively locating the corner point from other bearing trees. 

Crab apple is not recommended for a bearing tree except as a last resort. If necessary to utilize, keep the blaze small, probably just "BT", and paint thoroughly. Releasing is advised but may be impossible in the dense thickets.