Home/Species/ Common Apple

Malus domestica

(Suckow) Borkh.

Common Apple

G5Secure Found in 24 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.961330

Element CodePDROS130J0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderRosales

FamilyRosaceae

GenusMalus

Synonyms

Malus malus(L.) Britt.Malus pumilaP. Mill.Pyrus malusL.

Other Common Names

Cultivated Apple (EN) Paradise Apple (EN) Pommier commun (FR)

Concept Reference

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2014b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 9. Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 713 pp.

Taxonomic Comments

FNA (vol. 9, 2014) here expands the concept of Malus pumila (=M. domestica) to include M. sylvestris, while Kartesz (1994) treated them as distinct. As of 2025, FNA has "Revised Since Print" the accepted name in their online treatment, using M. domestica instead of M. pumila. FNA notes "Quian G. Z. et al.’s proposal (2010) to conserve the illegitimate name M. domestica as M. domestica (Suckow) Borkhausen was accepted by the Nomenclature session at the XIX International Botanical Congress in July 2017, held at Shenzhen, China. The legitimation of the name M. domestica in the Shenzhen code is accepted by the author and now followed in FNA’s digital treatment of Malus."

Conservation Status

Review Date2016-03-28

Change Date2016-03-28

Range Extent Comments

Introduced; St. Pierre and Miquelon; B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que.; Ala., Alaska, Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.; c Asia; introduced also in Mexico, Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala), South America (Argentina), Europe, e Asia, Africa (South Africa), Pacific Islands (New Zealand, Tristan da Cunha), Australia (FNA vol. 9, 2014).

Ecology & Habitat

Other Nations (2)

United StatesNNA

Province	Rank	Native
Iowa	SNA	No
North Dakota	SNA	No
New Hampshire	SNA	No
Alaska	SNA	No
North Carolina	SNA	No
Alabama	SNA	No
Indiana	SNA	No
Nebraska	SNA	No
Pennsylvania	SNA	No
Montana	SNA	No
Mississippi	SNA	No
Michigan	SNA	No
Kansas	SNA	No
Louisiana	SNA	No
Vermont	SNA	No
Georgia	SNA	No
Tennessee	SNA	No
Arkansas	SNA	No
Maine	SNA	No
Connecticut	SNA	No
West Virginia	SNA	No
Washington	SNA	No
Illinois	SNA	No
Wyoming	SNA	No
Ohio	SNA	No
District of Columbia	SNA	No
New York	SNA	No
Minnesota	SNA	No
Wisconsin	SNA	No
Nevada	SNA	No
Virginia	SNA	No
Colorado	SNA	No
New Mexico	SNA	No
Missouri	SNA	No
Utah	SNA	No
Massachusetts	SNA	No
Maryland	SNA	No
Oregon	SNA	No
New Jersey	SNA	No
South Carolina	SNA	No
California	SNA	No
Delaware	SNA	No
Rhode Island	SNA	No
Kentucky	SNA	No

CanadaNNA

Province	Rank	Native
Quebec	SNA	No
Alberta	SNA	No
Ontario	SNA	No
British Columbia	SNA	No
Prince Edward Island	SNA	No
New Brunswick	SNA	No
Nova Scotia	SNA	No
Manitoba	SNA	No

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL, Long-lived, DECIDUOUS

Economic Value (Genus)Yes

Roadless Areas (24)

Arizona (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Blind Indian Creek	Prescott National Forest	26,847

California (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Cutca Valley	Cleveland National Forest	14,530
Jennie Lake	Sequoia National Forest	2,388
Raywood Flat B	San Bernardino National Forest	11,373
Sill Hill	Cleveland National Forest	5,294
West Girard	Shasta-Trinity National Forest	37,516

Montana (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bridger	Gallatin National Forest	45,059
Sapphire	Bitterroot National Forest	43,303
Scotchman Peaks (MT)	Kootenai National Forest	53,909

New Mexico (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Holy Ghost	Santa Fe National Forest	2,352
Meadow Creek	Gila National Forest	34,167
Nichols Reservoir	Santa Fe National Forest	1,518

North Carolina (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Graveyard Ridge (addition)	Pisgah National Forest	1,958
Overflow Creek	Nantahala National Forest	3,379
Sam Knob (addition)	Pisgah National Forest	2,576

Oregon (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Crane Mountain	Fremont National Forest	23,096
Hurricane Creek	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	1,606

Pennsylvania (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Hearts Content	Allegheny National Forest	221

Utah (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
418027	Uinta National Forest	13,884
Mt. Logan North	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	18,930
Mt. Logan South	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	17,014
North Francis	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	8,148
Wellsville	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	1,717

Washington (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Taneum	Wenatchee National Forest	26,140

References (7)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2014b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 9. Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 713 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Khoury, C. K., S. Greene, J. Wiersema, N. Maxted, A. Jarvis, and P. C. Struik. 2013. An inventory of crop wild relatives of the United States. Crop Science 53(4):1496-1508.
Plants for a Future (PFAF). 2025. Plants for a future database. Online. Available: https://pfaf.org/user/Default.aspx (accessed 2025).
Qian, Q.-Z., L.-F. Liu, and G.-G. Tang. 2010. (1933) Proposal to conserve the name Malus domestica against M. pumila, M. communis, M. frutescens, and Pyrus dioica (Rosaceae). Taxon 59(2): 650-652.
Turland, N.J., J.H. Wiersema, F.R. Barrie, W. Greuter, D.L. Hawksworth, P.S. Herendeen, S. Knapp, W.H. Kusber, D.Z. Li, K. Marhold, T.W. May, J. McNeill, A.M. Monro, J. Prado, M.J. Price, and G.F. Smith, eds. 2018. International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code) adopted by the Nineteenth International Botanical Congress Shenzhen, China, July 2017. Regnum Vegetabile 159. Glashütten: Koeltz Botanical Books. [https://www.iapt-taxon.org/nomen/main.php]
USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System (USDA ARS NPGS). 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Online. Available:https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearchcwr (accessed 2025).