Southern Crab Apple (Malus angustifolia)

Southern Crab Apple (Malus angustifolia) Southern Crab is indigenous to the southeastern states and one of a very few species of apples that are actually native to North America. Much like many of our native plums, our native crabs are in decline due to ever-changing landscapes and practices. They were more common back when we had more old- field/grassland type habitats that were set back with fire from time to time, as they don’t compete well at all in the “big woods” where they can’t get enough sunlight. Southern Crab puts on a show of pinkish white blooms every spring, and pollinators use both the blooms and the foliage, which serve to pollinate the flowers and increase populations of good insects (think bird food) in the surrounding landscape. Although they can grow to 20-30 feet in height in an orchard setting, when planting them on more upland sites where they naturally occur, they can remain fairly compact. The clumpy plants serve as great cover for everything from rabbits, quai