Apple Blossom: Michigan State Flower – Fragranced Beauty
This wild beauty with a hypnotic scent is found all over Michigan and Arkansas. It is also known as the apple blossom, Malus coronaria or Pyrus coronaria, and is the official state flower of both Michigan and Arkansas. In the United States alone, there are approximately 1000 variations of apple blossoms that are cultivated all around the country.
These stunning flowers offer a beautiful scent in the spring, as well as great commercial use, being commercially grown all around the US and in the major states of Washington, New York, Michigan, and more.
In this article, we take a closer look at:
* Description and characteristics of the apple blossom
* Cultivation practises
* How this stunning flower became the official state flower of Michigan and Arkansas
* Facts
Description and Characteristics
The apple blossom tree is known around the world, renowned for its fruits and flowers, and being grown commercially, as well as for ornamental purposes. The apple tree has a harsh, black-tinted bark with firm, spreading branches. The leaves are heart-shaped, small in size, and the edges are finely toothed. They can grow up to 40 feet in height.
This tree originated in Europe, and its flowers bloom in the period ranging from April to June. The pyrus coronaria species is native to the eastern United States. Apples are a well-known fruit, as is used to make cider, and they are also being used for medicine, as well as domestic purposes. The fruits can be eaten raw, as well as made into jams and jellies, because they contain high levels of pectin. It belongs to the rosaceae family, in the coronaria species, and its technical name is Pyrus coronaria or Malus coronaria.
The flowers are very fragranced, giving off a sweet and pleasant smell, and the petals are cherry pink and white. The period when the scent is at its strongest is in May. The shape of the calyx-tube is oval, shaped like an urn, and the limb is split into five parts. The calyx and the pedicels are inversely ovate and slightly tooted, as well as coated with densely matted wool hairs.
The blossom has five petals with a roundish shape and minuscule claws. It presents a multitude of stamens, which are the male fertilizer organ of a flower, as well as presenting five different styles.
They produce green-tinted fruits in September, measuring at around five-eight cm in diameter, and they turn yellow-green in late summer.
Cultivation Practices
The apple trees can be grouped into four categories, depending on their flowering periods, which are late-season flowering, very late-season flowering, early flowering and mid-season flowering. The late-season flowering trees are best suited for colder climates than other fruits because being late blooms, and they reduce the vulnerability to the cold weather of late-spring.
The state of Washington, Michigan and New York occupy the top of the apple-producing hierarchy in the United States. Planting these trees with the purpose of fruiting, they are best planted with two cultivars with the same period of flowering, because this can allow for cross-pollination.
Although some species of apple trees are able to self-pollinate, the wide majority need cross-pollination to properly bloom. Even the self-pollinating kind grows better fruits if a different variety of tree is nearby, allowing for cross-pollination. Pollination is also achieved through insects, so even if there is a single tree, there’s a good possibility the pollination can occur.
There is also a third variety known as triploids, which need three neighboring trees to successfully pollinate. This is due to the infertility of triploids, which are incapable of pollinating.
The perfect soil for these trees to be cultivated is well drained, and positioned in locations that allow for partial shade.
There are more than 100 varieties of apple trees commercially grown in the US, as well as more than 7500 species grown in the world. The blossoms are unique and beautifully colored, making it a great gift for your loved ones.
How It Became the Official State Flower of Michigan And Arkansas
This beautiful flower was designated as the Michigan state flower in the year 1897. The Pyrus coronaria was chosen as the specific species, due to the beautiful aspect, mesmerizing and powerful fragrance, as well as a rich history and nativeness to Michigan.
The state of Michigan is one of the biggest producers of apples in the United States, raking at number three, behind Washington and New York, and this aspect also contributed to the designation of the apple blossom as the state’s official flower. It also was chosen as the official state flower of Arkansas in the year 1901, because it provided great value, being a cash crop, and bringing much profit to the state.
Over the years, Arkansas stopped being a major apple producer, but the crab apple blossom still remains the official state flower.
Facts
It is believed that Alexander the Great firstly found the apple tree, and then he brought it back to Macedonia for cultivation purposes.
The biggest apples that have ever been picked up from a tree came from Camo, Michigan. It weighed a whopping three pounds and two ounces.
The apple blossom is known for its distinctive beauty, and is customary in many parts of the world to give apple blossoms to friends and family, providing a great ornamental flower, as well as giving off a sweet, pleasant scent.
In Romania, there is an alcoholic beverage derived from apples, which is named “tuica” and is a very strong drink, containing between 24% and 65% alcohol.
Apples are used to make cider, and the fruits of the apple tree are well-known all around the world. There is also the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” due to the high concentration of fiber and vitamins this fruit contains.
