Floral Motifs on Early Chintz
Malus pumila - Apple
Malus pumila (Apple) by Kerbla Edzerdla [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Malus pumila (Apple) from Private Collection, Broderie Perse Bed Set, c. 1840
Malus pumila (Apple) (published as Pyrus malus) by L. Klein, Unsere Waldbäume, Sträucher und Zwergholzgewächse, t. 57, 1839
Common Name: Apple
Description: Malus pumila (Apple) is a member of the Rose Family (Rosaceae). The wild ancestor of the domestic apple originated in the mountains of central Asia. Apples have been grown in Europe for thousands of years.*
Examples of flowers for which Malus pumila (Apple) may be mistaken:
Quilts with the above Malus pumila (Apple) motif:
Chintz with this Malus pumila (Apple) motif:
Description: Malus pumila (Apple) is a member of the Rose Family (Rosaceae). The wild ancestor of the domestic apple originated in the mountains of central Asia. Apples have been grown in Europe for thousands of years.*
Examples of flowers for which Malus pumila (Apple) may be mistaken:
Quilts with the above Malus pumila (Apple) motif:
- None known at this time
Chintz with this Malus pumila (Apple) motif:
- Private Collection, Broderie Perse Bed Set, c. 1840
* "Apple, " Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple; accessed 2/2/2019.
© Updated 2/2/2019 Author: Terry Terrell
Rose (Rosa sinica) from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, vol. 55: t. 2847, 1828
Strawberry (Fragaria vesica ) from Pierre Joseph Redouté, Choix des plus belles fleurs :et des plus beaux fruits (Paris: Ernst Panckoucke, 1827) Plate 103
Crataegus monogyna (May Tree) by Eugene Zelenko.
Apple blossoms can be easily confused with the flowers of single-blooming members of the Rose Family (Rosaceae). A few examples are shown above. Key characteristics of apples are that they grow on trees not bushes or non-woody small plants, that they produce apples as fruits, and they lack thorns. Their leaves are alternate and shaped like ovals with serrated edges. Apple blossoms have five petals and are produced in small clumps. Flower buds are pink becoming white on the face when fully open. That being said, individual flowers of the Rose Family illustrated on chintz and lacking leaves or other structures can be quite challenging to identify exactly.