Garden flower
Apple
Malus domestica
Apple is a popular garden flower. It's grown in Arkansas gardens, so wild records are few.
*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026. Planted garden flowers are mostly excluded from research grade.
On our lists for: Arkansas
Quick look
An apple is the round, edible fruit of an apple tree. Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple, the most widely grown in the genus, are cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Eurasia before they were introduced to the American continent by European colonists.
- It belongs to the Rosaceae family. iNaturalist
- USDA PLANTS describes it as a tree with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
- USDA PLANTS lists it as introduced in the lower 48 states and records it in 40 states. USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe lists it as not native to Arkansas. NatureServe
- iNaturalist has 6 research-grade sightings of it in Arkansas, ranking #105 among the 109 flowers on our Arkansas list. iNaturalist
Apple gift ideas
Handmade apple gifts from independent makers.
🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.
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Apple art print
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Apple greeting card
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Apple mug
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Apple earrings
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Apple embroidery pattern
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Apple sticker
When does it bloom?
There are only a handful of Arkansas flowering records (garden plants are mostly left out of research-grade records), so this chart uses records from across the U.S.
Conservation status
- Federal (U.S. ESA)
- Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
- NatureServe global
- G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
- Arkansas
- No list Arkansas has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Arkansas ranks instead. NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Arkansas.
- Rare elsewhere
- No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.
Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.
Can you eat it?
NC State Extension notes: “Fruits can be eaten raw and cooked in a variety of dishes.” NC State Extension
It isn't on the ASPCA plant list, and NC State Extension doesn't flag it for pets. For context only: ASPCA lists a related species, Malus sylvestrus (“Apple”), as toxic to dogs and cats. That doesn't tell us about this species, so keep pets away to be safe. ASPCA
🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.
Where does it grow?
USDA PLANTS records apple in 40 states plus Washington, D.C.
recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded
See the full list of states
Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming; District of Columbia.
Arkansas counties with USDA records: Ashley, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Johnson, St. Francis, Washington, Yell.
More Arkansas flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile MAPU.
- iNaturalist, Malus domestica: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Apple (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Ark. Code § 1-4-109: Arkansas state flower.
- Arkansas: Arkansas State Plant Board noxious weeds and prohibited plants (2 CAR § 50-101).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Malus domestica (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: NC State Extension; ASPCA.
- Photo: Bob Miller via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.