Abstract
The crab apple is the most widespread wild relative of the apple tree in Europe. Although it is more extended in the northern regions, in Spain this species is mainly located on mountainous areas. Archaeobotanical records show that human beings have used Malus sylvestris since ancient times. After an exhaustive search in almost 200 ethnobotanical and ethnographical works, a compilation of the traditional knowledge registered on Malus sylvestris in Spain is presented here. A total of 60 use-reports of 6 main use categories were registered, Human food being the most widespread, with almost half of the use-reports. Crab apples, often called maíllas in Spanish, were consumed either raw, usually after frost or over-maturation, or cooked, in jams and bakery. Other important food use was the elaboration of alcoholic beverages, both cider and, especially, liqueurs by macerating crab apples in liquor for several months. Besides Human food, the following important uses were as a rootstock for grafting apple tree; as medicinal remedies mentioned for treating several ailments, mainly those related with digestive system; and finally, the use of the ripe crab apples as air freshener thanks to their strong aroma. This study have shown the importance of this species in the past and may be a starting point for further research in several fields, such as Pharmacology, Cosmetics and Food Industry and could also serve for the revaluation and protection of this wild genetic resource.
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Acknowledgements
We want to thank to INIA for granting a predoctoral contract to Alberto Arnal (CPD-0144) and to IMIDRA for financing this research (FP-2017-MZ). We also acknowledge to Mario Vega for the cession of one of the photographs of Fig. 3 and to Manuel Pardo de Santayana, coordinator of the Spanish Inventory of Traditional Knowledge related to Biodiversity, for collaborating in the search of ethnobotanical data and to all the Team of this amazing project. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable remarks that surely improved the manuscript.
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Tardío, J., Arnal, A. & Lázaro, A. Ethnobotany of the crab apple tree (Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill., Rosaceae) in Spain. Genet Resour Crop Evol 68, 795–808 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-020-01026-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-020-01026-y