IOWA CRAB

IOWA CRAB

Pyrus ioensis
ROSE FAMILY (Rosaceae)

Click on each photo thumbnail to enlarge.

This native tree, up to 12 feet tall, has pink buds and white flowers which bloom during the middle of April. Some of its leaves are lobed (A) and some of its twigs have spurs (D). Its fruit, a crabapple, is less than 1 inch in diameter and ripens to greenish yellow on 2 inch stalks by mid-August (E).

We are on the western edge of its natural range, flowering in April. In Fontenelle Forest, rare, one tree was found between the railroad tracks and Walking Club Trail, about 25 paces west of the intersection with Cottonwood Trail.

Also known as Prairie Crabapple and Bechtel Crab.

The content of NatureSearch is provided by dedicated volunteer Naturalists of Fontenelle Forest who strive to provide the most accurate information available. Contributors of the images retain their copyrights. The point of contact for this page is: Roland Barth.