# Apple

By [devona168](https://paragraph.com/@devona168) · 2021-10-29

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_This article is about the fruit and tree. For the American technology company, see_ [_Apple Inc._](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.) _For other uses, see_ [_Apple (disambiguation)_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_\(disambiguation\))_,_ [_Apple blossom (disambiguation)_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_blossom_\(disambiguation\))_, and_ [_Apple tree (disambiguation)_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_tree_\(disambiguation\))_._

Apple'[Cripps Pink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripps_Pink)' applesFlowers[Scientific classification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy_\(biology\))Kingdom:[Plantae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant)_Clade_:[Tracheophytes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vascular_plant)_Clade_:[Angiosperms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_plant)_Clade_:[Eudicots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudicots)_Clade_:[Rosids](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosids)Order:[Rosales](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosales)Family:[Rosaceae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosaceae)Genus:\*[Malus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus)\*Species:**_M. domestica_**[Binomial name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_nomenclature)**_Malus domestica_** [Borkh.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moritz_Balthasar_Borkhausen), 1803[Synonyms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synonym_\(taxonomy\))[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-1)[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple#cite_note-2)

*   _Malus communis_ Desf.
    
*   _Malus pumila_ Mil.
    
*   _M. frutescens_ Medik.
    
*   _M. paradisiaca_ (L.) Medikus
    
*   _M. sylvestris_ Mil.
    
*   _Pyrus malus_ L.
    
*   _Pyrus malus_ var. _paradisiaca_ L.
    
*   _Pyrus dioica_ Moench
    

An **apple** is an edible [fruit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit) produced by an **apple tree** (**_Malus domestica_**). Apple [trees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_tree) are [cultivated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture) worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the [genus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus) [_Malus_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus). The [tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree) originated in [Central Asia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia), where its wild ancestor, [_Malus sieversii_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malus_sieversii), is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in [Asia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia) and [Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) and were brought to North America by [European colonists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_colonization_of_the_Americas). Apples have [religious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion) and [mythological](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology) significance in many cultures, including [Norse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology), [Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology), and [European Christian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Europe) tradition.

Apples grown from seed tend to be very different from those of the parents, and the resultant fruit frequently lack desired characteristics. Generally then, apple [cultivars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar) are propagated by clonal [grafting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting) onto [rootstocks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootstock). Apple trees grown without rootstocks tend to be large and much slower to fruit after planting. Rootstocks are used to control speed of growth and the size of the resulting tree allowing for easier harvesting.

There are more than 7,500 known [cultivars of apples](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_apple_cultivars). Different cultivars are bred for various tastes and use, including [cooking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_apple), eating raw and [cider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_cider) production. Trees and fruit are prone to a number of [fungal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus), bacterial and pest problems, which can be controlled by a number of [organic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_farming) and non-organic means. In 2010, the fruit's [genome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome) was [sequenced](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_sequencing) as part of research on disease control and selective breeding in apple production.

Worldwide production of apples in 2018 was 86 million [tonnes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonnes), with [China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China) accounting for nearly half of the total

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*Originally published on [devona168](https://paragraph.com/@devona168/apple)*