Crabs, Malus toward none

There's good and bad news on the crabapple front.  As I mentioned, I've run across a number of small trees which appear to be different types of crabapple.  Apparently there are only four species of crabapple that are native to North America:

1. Malus angustifolia (Southern crabapple), native to Southeastern U.S.
2. Malus coronaria (sweet or garland crab), native to Midwest, mainly east of the Mississippi
3. Malus ioensis (prairie crabapple), native to prairie regions of upper Mississippi valley & Texas.
4. Malus fusca (Oregon or Pacific crabapple), native to Pacific Northwest

None of these could really be called native to this region, but according to Douglas Tallamy, insects aren't as fussy about crabapple species as they are about most other plants, and in particular they are satisfied with hybrids between alien and native North American crabapples. The fact that insects will accept them helps both to prevent them from becoming invasive and to support a protein source for other animals, particularly birds.

But, according to the Invasive Plant Council, Malus baccata (Siberian crabapple) and hybrids are considered to have been established as an invasive species in the Finger Lakes region, so I will have to keep an eye out for them.

Crabapples in our front yard, still holding on today because they're
too high for the dog to reach from the snowbank.

Cornell Plantations has a policy in place that details which plants are considered invasive and at what levels for the central finger lakes region. They have four lists that include plant species that are considered:

1. highly invasive to natural areas
2. moderately to highly invasive to natural areas
3. moderately invasive to natural areas
4. of concern (a watch list)

Malus baccata, Malus floribunda, Malus sylvestris, and their hybrids appear on list 3, while Malus prunifolia and its hybrids appear on list 4.