Peraphyllum
genus of plants
Peraphyllum is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the rose family, containing the single species Peraphyllum ramosissimum, commonly known as wild crab apple.
Description
Peraphyllum ramosissimum is a shrub which may reach 3 metres (10 ft) in height. Growing up to 3.5 centimetres (1+1⁄2 in) long, the leaves are simple; they can grow very close together on short shoots but are well separated on longer shoots.
Like most other flowering plants of the Rosaceae, P. ramosissimum has 5 petals and 5 sepals with radial symmetry. The flowers have about 15–20 free stamens, and the petals are white to rose in color. The fruit is a yellowish to purplish pome about 1 centimetre (1⁄2 in) wide.
Taxonomy
Translated from the Greek, the genus Peraphyllum means "very leafy" and the species name ramosissimum means "many branches". Peraphyllum is most closely related to Amelanchier, Malacomeles, Crataegus, and Mespilus.
Distribution and habitat
Peraphyllum ramosissimum grows in Washington, California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, usually in pine and juniper woodlands. In California it can be found in the High Cascades, High Sierra Nevada, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert sky islands.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3487167. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Peraphyllum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.