Peraphyllum ramosissimum
Wild crab apple
Family: Rosaceae · Type: shrub · Native
Wild crab apple is a native shrub found in eastern California Range and Highlands, northern and central Sierra Nevada's eastern slope, Great Basin, and Panamint Range Mountains in dry washes, sagebrush scrub, pinyon and juniper woodland, and pine forest at elevations of 1,010 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to May, this shrub produces white to rose-colored flowers 6 to 8 millimeters long with spreading petals. Growing 1 to 3 meters tall with multiple branches, it forms a dense, much-branched structure. Its simple leaves are clustered on short shoots, oblanceolate in shape, 1 to 4 centimeters long, and can be entire or have minute gland-like teeth. The fruit is a small 8 to 10 millimeter pome that ranges from yellow to red, purple, or blue when mature.
Habitat: dry washes, sagebrush scrub, pinyon/juniper woodland, pine forest
Bloom period: Apr-May
Elevation: 1010-2500 m
Bioregions: e CaRH, n&c SNH (e slope), GB, DMtns (Panamint Range)
California counties: Lassen, Modoc, Inyo, Shasta, Alpine, Los Angeles
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.