Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Malus pumila Mill.

Synonyms

Malus domestica Borkh.
Malus x domestica Borkh.
Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. (misapplied)
Pyrus malus L.

Family

Malaceae (New South Wales)
Rosaceae (Queensland, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia)

Common Names

apple, crab apple, crabapple, domestic apple, paradise apple

Origin

Native to central and eastern Europe (i.e. Austria, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia).

Naturalised Distribution

Naturalised in many parts of south-eastern and eastern Australia (i.e. in south-eastern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania and southern South Australia).

Also widely naturalised in other parts of the world, including in the USA.

Notes

Apple (Malus pumila) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, the ACT and some parts of New South Wales. This fruit tree is widely cultivated in orchards and gardens in the wetter temperate regions of Australia. It has escaped cultivation and invaded roadsides, riparian areas and bushland in these same regions.

Apple (Malus pumila) is most commonly naturalised in southern Victoria, and is listed as an environmental weed in several local authority areas within this region (e.g. in Knox City, Cardinia Shire, Colac Otway Shire and the Shire of Yarra Ranges). It is also regarded as an environmental weed in the Goulburn Mulwaree area in southern New South Wales, has been recorded in the Don River Reserve in Tasmania, and is becoming naturalised in the higher rainfall areas of South Australia.