I am in the process of adding my NOID plants to My List by using the generic or parent database entry and then adding my photo in the comment section so it is clear (to me) what plant I am referencing. I am having difficulty with a NOID crabapple that is out in my field. All the crabs are Malus something or other. I have located two without cultivar names, ioensis (which appears to be an eastern/midwest native) and fusca (appears to be a western native). Neither of these would really be appropriate to my NOID as it is an ornamental one with the bright fuchsia blossoms and is probably a semi-dwarf. I assume the named cultivars are mostly grafted trees. What would be the most generic entry to link to My List for this?

I thought all Crabapples were considered "Ornamental" because of their beautiful blooms and I thought fruit from all Crabapples was edible even though it is tart. Unfortunately those lovely trees don't grow here in Florida but I remember them fondly from my younger years growing up in coastal Virginia. I'll be curious to hear what replies you get to this post.

When I was growing up, we had a native woods behind our house with wild crabapples. My vague recollection was an average sized fruit tree, rather nondescript white blossoms, and small hard crabapples we used as throwing weapons. I think most of the crabapples sold in nurseries are grafted trees chosen for their beautiful blooms and often purple leaves, much different than what I grew up with. I've been more confused by my search because nurseries simply list them as Malus 'Cultivar' without including the species name. I don't know enough about how grafting might affect naming a plant.

(Correctly posted to the right thread, now, again thanks Lin)