Side by side
Crab apple or wild pear? How to tell them apart
Malus sylvestris · Pyrus pyraster
How to tell them apart – crab apple: dull leaf on a shorter stalk, sour apples without grit cells, and flowers with yellow anthers; wild pear: glossy leaf on a long stalk, and hard little pears with grit cells.
How do you recognise them?
- Crab apple
- Small, often thorny apple tree with hairless leaves and small, sour apples 2–3 cm across.
- Compared with wild pear: dull leaf on a shorter stalk, sour apples without grit cells, and flowers with yellow anthers.
- Wild pear
- Thorny wild pear with glossy, long-stalked leaves and small, hard pears.
- Compared with crab apple: glossy leaf on a long stalk, and hard little pears with grit cells.
| Crab apple | Wild pear | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, 4–8 cm, oval to round with a short pointed tip, scalloped to toothed; mature leaves hairless on both sides. | Alternate, 2–7 cm, round to oval, finely scalloped or almost untoothed, glossy and hairless; the leaf stalk is about as long as the blade. |
| Flowering | White to pale pink flowers in clusters, in April–May (May). | White flowers with purplish-red anthers, in April, before or with the leaves (April–May). |
| Fruit | Yellowish-green apples 2–3 cm across, sometimes flushed red; sour and astringent. | Round to pear-shaped fruits 1.5–3.5 cm long, yellowish-brown, hard and astringent, with grit cells; edible only once bletted. |
| Bark | Grey-brown, flaking; short shoots often end in a thorny point. | Dark grey to blackish, cracked into small square blocks; short shoots with thorny tips. |
| Shape and height | Broadleaf tree, 5–10 m | Broadleaf tree, 8–20 m |
| Site | Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, normal | Full sun, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | Yes | Yes |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | – | – |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | November–March | November–March |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Both are native and good for wildlife: choose what suits your soil, your light and the space you have.
- Wild pear grows 8–20 m tall: too big for an ordinary garden, but fine in a large garden, a park or a meadow.
Read on
- Plant profile: Crab apple
- Plant profile: Wild pear
- Crab apple: when and how to prune
- Wild pear: when and how to prune
- Identification key
Also looks like
Identify by feature
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.