Scotland's native wild apple -Malm sylvestris: genetic issues and conservation

摘要

Wild apple trees (Mains sylvestris (L.) Mill.) have been 'off the radar' for foresters and ecologists, to the extent that they generally go unnoticed and many professionals are unsure how to identify them. This paper confirms that wild apple is a natural component of ancient woodland and wood pasture across much of Scotland and northern England. Wild apple has been unobtrusively hybridising with domestic apple such that 27% of apparent wild apples are in fact hybrids. There are still relatively purepopulations of wild apple in several upland regions, with strongholds in the Southern Highlands, Galloway and the Lake District; in lowland, populated areas of Scotland where domestic apples are common about 50% of trees are hybrids. Asiatic apples havealso been planted in forests, and are now naturalising and starting to hybridise with other apples. The paper gives guidance on how to identify wild apples and how to organise genetic conservationmeasures by using appropriate seed sources.