This might be a crabapple, though I’m not a crabapple expert. And the Malus or apple family, along with its fruit tree cousins such as the Pyrus or pear [ed: and I should add the Prunus family, which includes plums, peaches (which this might be), apricots, cherries, and almonds], are all five-petalled members of the large Rosaceae or rose family, making identification by flower alone quite tricky. At least, for me.
Whatever they are, they sure are pretty. Keep your eyes open for the wedding parade of fruit trees that soon will be marching through the city. It’s all too brief.
A bit of trivia: Why do they call these blossoms, not just flowers? A blossom describes a conspicuous flower that produces an edible fruit. Now you know.
10 comments
Wow, Helen, three posts in three days! Are you finished with your courses? I love it when the fruit trees bloom — although, like you, I have trouble identifying what's what. -Jean
Who knew? 🙂 Well, those blossoms are some purdy!
Now I know! (And I always wondered)
There are some lovely old crabs (and not just the lady next door! lol) in my neighbourhood and I always look forward to seeing them bloom.
Gorgeous blooms. Don't you just love seeing all the trees wearing their wedding gowns at this time of year?
Oh, I'm really glad you put the definition of blossom in this post. I've been misusing it horribly, but now I can put that to rights. Thanks!
lovely blossoms. If you are still in doubt after the fruit arrives, It's hard to differentiate sometimes between cherries and crab apples, you can always cut a fruit in half, if there is one pit it's a Prunus lots of little pits a Malus . I'm sure you already know this Helen 🙂
Great photos. And great info on blossoms vs. flowers. I don't think I've ever really thought of it and I'm sure I've made the faux pas.
As Dame Edna might have said: thanks, Blossoms, for stopping by. I'll head back for another look at the tree once the leaves emerge, and again once it sets fruit. Then I'll update the blog with some ID.
I had no idea there was a difference between a blossom and a flower. Thanks for the clarification.
Was that a cherry blossom? I always get to witness it's festival in Japan.And every year I witness it's beauty. I just thought it would be nice to share such awesomeness. More power to you and to your site. Thank you!
bridal gowns online