Rivers Chinese Flowering Crabapple - Malus spectabilis 'Riversii'

Rivers Chinese Flowering Crabapple - Malus spectabilis 'Riversii' [1]
Also commonly called Asiatic Apple [2]
Rose Family: Rosaceae / Height: 30 feet / USDA zones 4 through 8
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Rivers Chinese Flowering Crabapple is an open-crowned, spreading tree, growing to 30 feet tall and 20 wide. Leaves are ovate, frequently lobed, dark green up to 3 in. Deep red buds burst into double large pink flowers in early May. The beautiful example pictured here, grown from a cutting, is 45 years old. Tree produces green fruit, which is somewhat disappointing in an otherwise extremely showy ornamental.

Rivers Chinese Flowering Crabapple - Malus spectabilis 'Riversii', Morton Arboretum acc. 153-64*2

Rivers Chinese Flowering Crabapple Blossoms

Common names:

Asiatic apple (Source: Zander ed17 )
Chinese crab (Source: Zander ed17 )
Chinese flowering apple (Source: Hortus 3 )
hai tang hua (Source: F ChinaEng )
Pracht-Apfel (Source: Zander ed17 )

see MMPND for additional names in foreign scripts

Economic importance:

Environmental: ornamental (fide Dict Gard; Genet Res Crop Evol 46:607. 1999; F ChinaEng)

Native:

ASIA-TEMPERATE
China: China - Hebei, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [3]

Doubleflower Chinese Flowering Crabapple - Malus spectabilis 'Plena' , Morton Arboretum acc. 419-85*1 & 2 are 24 years old [2]

References

Rivers Chinese Flowering Crabapple - Malus spectabilis 'Riversii', Morton Arboretum acc. 153-64*2, photographed May 8, 2009 by Bruce Marlin
USDA NRCS Plants Profile, Malus spectabilis (Aiton) Borkh.
USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. GRIN Taxon: Malus spectabilis (Aiton) Borkh.

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