What’s a dichotomous key?
Help
Malus
See list of 5 species in this genusA difficult and frequently cultivated genus. Some plants do not appear to match descriptions of species known to occur in New England, these possibly the result of hybridization or perhaps merely escaped cultivars that have not yet been identified. Malus sargentii Rehd. was reported from ME by Greene et al. (2005). The voucher specimens (at HCOA!) are vegetative and the records are not accepted here.
-
1a. Leaf blades (at least those on long shoots) usually lobed, conduplicate in bud; pomes with some sclerenchyma cells
-
1b. Leaf blades unlobed, convolute in bud (conduplicate in M. floribunda); pomes lacking sclerenchyma cells
-
2a. Calyx lobes deciduous [Fig. 846]; pomes 0.6–1 cm in diameter
-
3a. Calyx glabrous; young branchlets glabrous; leaves convolute in bud; petiole 20–50 mm long; gynoecium with (4–) 5 styles; mature pome 8–10 mm in diameter
-
3b. Calyx pubescent; young branchlets pubescent; leaves conduplicate in bud; petiole 15–25 mm long; gynoecium with usually 4 styles; mature pome 6–8 mm in diameter
-
-
2b. Calyx lobes persistent in fruit; pome 2–12 cm in diameter
-
4a. Leaf blades sharply serrate; pedicels 20–35 mm long, slender; calyx glabrous or somewhat villous; pomes ovoid, 2–3.5 cm in diameter
-
4b. Leaf blades crenate-serrate; pedicels 10–25 mm long, stout; calyx tomentose; pomes subglobose, (2–) 6–12 cm in diameter
-
-
Show photos of:
Each photo represents one species in this genus.