NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/654753
APRIL 2016 • NEBRASKAland 65 A cloudy, dreary day last April found me hunting mushrooms at Indian Cave State Park. Although having trudged up and down steep wooded hills for nearly an hour, my bag contained but a single, lonely morel and my enthusiasm waned. Then, cresting a ridge, I spied a small, white-flowering tree across a grassy opening. Could this be the rare prairie crabapple? It was. Mushroom hunting forgotten, I returned to my car for my camera with a quickened step. Also called the Iowa crabapple, Malus ioensis ranges across the Midwest growing in the partial shade of open oak woods and woodland edges. In Nebraska it prefers limestone-derived soils and is limited to southeastern counties along the Missouri River, the exception being two isolated populations along the Niobrara River in Brown and Holt counties. Native Americans made use of the hard, yellow, waxy-skinned apples and may have deliberately or accidentally moved seed to establish these far-flung populations. A coarse shrub or small tree reaching 20 feet in height, prairie crabapple has reddish brown to gray bark, which is thin and fissured, and crooked branches armed with stout 1.5 inch-long thorns to dissuade browsers. The main stem is often surrounded by a thicket of basal sprouts that are especially thorny. The sprouting habit and thorns make it an undesirable ornamental; although, domestic cultivars have been developed, one being the Bechtel's Flowering Crabapple. Our native crabapple is distinguished from common ornamental crabapples from Eurasia by its shallow-lobed leaves, more prominent thorns and larger, up to 1.5 inch-wide, yellowish fruits. Prairie crabapple's sweetly fragrant, white to rose-pink flowers open in early spring, and the fruits ripen in September and October. They are best harvested in late autumn after the leaves have fallen and can be stored for weeks before use. Eastern tribes buried the bitter, acidic fruits over winter to mellow their flavor; a valuable practice passed on to early settlers who used the apples to make cider, jelly and preserves. Few birds and mammals eat the fruits. In his 1973 book Woody Plants of the North Central Plains, Kansas botanist H. A. "Steve" Stephens wrote that the prairie crabapple was "fairly common in southeastern Nebraska." Unfortunately, this little tree now appears to be rare in our state. Due to fire suppression, many of our once open oak woods have developed thick subcanopies of fire- intolerant hackberry, ironwood and rough dogwood, and are now too shady for the crabapple. Historically, Native Americans and early settlers frequently set fire to the woods limiting tree densities. Over the last decade, I have encountered only five prairie crabapples in Indian Cave's nearly 2,400 acres of woodlands. The species is, however, notoriously hard to find unless in bloom. The consistent use of prescribed fire in oak woodlands can thin tree densities enhancing habitat for the crabapple. This practice is now underway at Indian Cave, but few other woodlands in the region. So for now, the prairie crabapple remains: a species living on the edge. ■ Prairie Crabapple – a Species on the Edge This little tree now appears to be rare in our state. By Gerry Steinauer, Botanist Prairie crabapple petals range in color from white to rose-pink; although, I have only seen white-flowered individuals at Indian Cave State Park. To dissuade browsers, prairie crabapples are armed with sharply-pointed, sometimes branched thorns (modified twigs). PHOTOS BY GERRY STEINAUER