Malus floribunda
Crabapples trees resemble apple trees. In spring they have copious white, pink, or red five-petaled flowers with abundant pollen. They often cross pollinate with apples and other members of the Malus family. The leaves are soft and green, sometimes are heart-shaped and have pointy tips. Sometimes they are used for as the rootstock for domestic apple trees.
Crabapples are sour and sometimes woody, so they are most typically eaten cooked. Because they contain high levels of pectin, they are delicious stewed down for jams or cooked into tarts and pie. Some people like to combine crabapples with apples when making apple cider, or pie, for a more complex flavor.
Crabapples were one of the ingredients - along with Mugwort, Plantain, Lamb's Cress, Venom-Loather, Chamomile, Nettle, Chervil and Fennel- in the Anglo-Saxon pagan Nine Herbs Charm, which was supposed to protect against nine infections, nine poisons and nine evil spirits.
