Photo by olmagon on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · photographed specimen identified as Malus domestica, a close relative
Wild and abandoned apples
Malus pumila
- When
- Typically September – October — September, October. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Old farmsteads, fence lines, roadsides — anywhere a farm once stood.
- How to know it
- An apple tree gone feral: small, spotty, often superb fruit. Every seedling tree is genetically unique.
- Look-alikes
- None dangerous.
- Harvest and use
- Cider, sauce, jelly. Taste one from each tree; occasionally you find a great one worth grafting.
- Caution
- Ask before picking on private land; a hedgerow tree usually belongs to someone.
Found in these regions
- Boreal North & Taiga
- Boreal Forest & Shield
- Acadian Forest & Atlantic Coast
- Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
- Northeast Atlantic Coast & Piedmont
- Appalachian Highlands
- Central Hardwoods & Interior Plateaus
- Southeastern Piedmont & Coastal Plain
- Gulf Coast & Mississippi Lowlands
- Florida Peninsula
- Prairies & Great Plains
- Western Mountains & Interior Plateaus
- Pacific Maritime
- Mediterranean California
- Deserts & Dry Basins
- Hawaiʻi & the Tropics
Is it ready near you?
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.