Common name: Apple • Hindi: सेब Seb • Sanskrit: Seva, Badara, Mushtinanan, Seba
Botanical name: Malus domestica Family: Rosaceae (Rose family)
Apple Tree is a small to medium sized tree with spreading canopy, to 30 ft
in wild, generally 6-15 ft in cultivation. Dark green leaves are elliptical
with serrate margins, and velvety hairs on the underside. Petals are white
when open, but have red-pink undersides when opening. The inflorescence is
a cyme of 4-6 flowers, with the center flower opening first. The central
flower is often called the "King bloom", and has the potential to produce a
larger fruit than other flowers. Flowers are produced terminally from mixed
buds on spurs, or to a lesser extent on long shoots. Spurs form on 2-yr-old
and older wood, and generally grow only a fraction of an inch each year. A
special fruit type is given to apple and related fruits - the pome. The
bulk of the fleshy edible portion derives from the flower cup, and not the
ovary. Seeds are relatively small and black, and mildly poisonous.
Identification credit: Gurcharan Singh
| Photographed in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. |
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