This year 110 Crab Apple Trees from across Dumfries & Galloway were tested to identify whether they were ‘pure’ crab apples (Malus sylvestris) or hybridized with other ‘non-native’ apple trees (Malus domestica). DNA-testing has revealed that 21 of the 110 trees tested contained more than 10% Malus domestica, indicating that at some point in their ancestral lineage hybridization had taken place. The other 80% of samples are considered ‘pure’, making Dumfries & Galloway a hotspot for pure crab apple trees.
There is only one apple that is considered ‘native’ to the UK, the Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris). The Crab Apple’s tendency to hybridise with other, non-native species means native, ‘wild’ trees can be rare. Previous work has identified that Galloway hosts a major proportion of the UK’s wild Crab Apple Trees. This has now been endorsed further by a testing of 110 samples gathered by citizen scientists across Dumfries & Galloway. These were sent to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh team who undertook DNA-testing upon the samples. 80% of which are found to be classed as ‘pure’.
Reviewing a map of the results, there appeared to be no obvious east – west trend to the ‘pure’ trees, but the ‘80% pure’ figure endorsed a previous batch of testing done in 2022.
A short report of the project and findings is available here: https://dgwoodlands.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-DG-Crab-Apple-Testing.pdf.
An Online event is planned to highlight the background to the Crab Apple distribution in the UK and what these results mean for Dumfries & Galloway. The event will feature Markus Ruhsam from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Jools Cox, local Crab Apple advocate! The event is on 28th Jan 2025 at 7.30pm. Full info + book your free ticket: https://fienta.com/galloway-crab-apples-a-year-of-discovery.
Reviewing the results, Jools Cox said:
“This next stage in the native forest crab apple project is very exciting. We now have the locations of many remote trees that have not been hybridised, from which to collect seed. Our seeds are going to specialist native Scottish tree nurseries and soon native crab apple saplings will be available to buy. We also have many people locally growing on seedlings so a small number of saplings are available for planting out in remote areas. Let us know if you have somewhere in mind to plant.”
Markus Ruhsam from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, added:
“Testing more trees has confirmed our previous results that Dumfries & Galloway is one of the top areas for pure crab apple in the UK”
McNabb Laurie from Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands said:
This work endorses the suggestion that Dumfries & Galloway has a nationally significant number of ‘pure’ crab apple trees. We were blown away by the response to the call for samples and this only highlights the enthusiasm for Crab Apples locally – a totemic tree in our landscape.”
Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands works with a range of partners including Woodland Trust Scotland, Dumfries & Galloway Council and The National Lottery Heritage Fund. For more information about Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands, follow the facebook or twitter pages, visit the website www.dgwoodlands.org.uk or sign up for the newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/iAlL6k.
Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands is registered in Scotland as a SCIO, number 052525.
