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The Lisnavagh Timber Project
TIMBERPÆDIA
Crab Apple
| Latin Name: |
Irish Name: |
Native to Ireland? |
| Malus sylvestris |
Cran fia-uill |
Yes |
About the Tree
Crab Apple is a native species that is frequently
found growing in hedgerows. They are usually quite scrubby in appearance
and grow to a height of approximately 10 to 15m. The tree is deciduous.
The fruit are smaller than "normal" apples
(about 3cm in diameter) and are very sour tastiung. They are used
for making crab apple jelly and also, apparently, quite potent wine!
About the Wood
Crab apple has a hard and close grained wood. For
this reason it is used for inlay work, mallets and wooden screws.
It is also very suitable for carving. Like a lot of fruit woods,
apple wood will split if it is allowed to dry too quickly, especially
at the ends. Painting the ends of logs with white paint will help
reduce the amount of splitting. Sealing with wax is even better.
Because of the way that apple trees grow, it is fairly
unusual to get straight grained sections of any length.
It is excellent firewood and burns with a very pleasant
aroma.
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