Latin: Malus sylvestris (Crab Apple), Pyrus malus
Also Known As: Fruit of the Underworld, Scrab, Bittersgall, Gribble, Grindstone Apple, Scrogg, Sour Grapes, Wilding-Tree, Fruit of the Gods, Silver Branch, The Silver Bough, Tree of Love
Family: Rosaceae
Habitat and Description: Crab Apple is an attractive tree, growing to a height of approx 30 ft, with a trunk girth of up to 10ft. It can often be found growing in hedgerows and copses, and with age develops some amazing twisted, contorted shapes like the old faery tale witch. The leaves are roughly oval shaped, and the tree bears many pale pink and cream, fragrant flowers in spring. The apples are smaller, harder versions of our domestic apples, and are usually too tart to eat straight from the bough. They do, however, make wonderful jelly and preserves, and were often used in punches and alcoholic beverages.
As a child, we had a venerable old crab apple growing in our garden, which seemed to have a very kindly, benevolent feel to it, although the shape of the tree itself was very contorted and twisted after many years of growth. The bark was deeply fissured and a deep greyish brown in colour, and every autumn it produced a heavy crop of crab apples, most of which ended up scattered around the grass with an abundance of wasps feeding on it. Apple trees of all kinds can be found growing along the sides of roads, in woodland, wasteland, meadows, old orchards, gardens... the list is endless.
Parts Used: Bark, fruit (remember the old saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away?)
Constituents: Apple contains Iron, Malic acid, and pectin, as well as sugars, fruit acids, vitamins A, B1 and C, flavonoids and minerals. Unfortunately I don't have a great deal of more detailed information on the constituents of the humble apple as not many herbalists seem to use it. One popular use of apples – cider vinegar – contains all the fruit's mineral salts, in particular potassium, as well as sugar, gluten and starch. Certainly cider vinegar has an extensive following as a tonic.
The ever reliable Mrs Grieve provides an extensive list of constituents found in the apple tree, including water, starch, sugar, fruit acids, salts, vitamins, organic acids including malic and gallic acid, potash, soda, and lime, magnesium and iron salts. These useful constituents apparently live just under the apple skin, meaning that to get the full value of the fruit it should be eaten whole, not peeled. The bark of the apple tree contains quercetin and is bitter. The seeds contain cyanide, amygdaline and an oil. The seeds, leaves and bark also contain flavonoids including cyanogenic glycosides, meaning that consuming these parts of the tree is possibly not recommended. flavonoidA chemical that gives a substance its flavour
Planetary Influence: Venus
Ogham: Quert
Associated Deities and Heroes: Aphrodite / Astarte / Ishtar / Ashtoreth / Venus, Apollo, Arwen, King Arthur, Athene, Cerridwen, Diana, Dionysus, Eve, Eurystheus, Flora, Godiva, Grannos, Gwen, Hera, Herakles, Helen of Troy, Hermes, The Hesperides, Iduna, Mabon, Modron, Nemesis, Olwen, Titaea, The Triple Goddess, Vishnu, Zeus, Shekinah, Atlas, Paris and Cupid.
Festival: Mabon, the Autumn Equinox.
Constitution: Cool and moist – the fruit of the crab apple is very sour in taste.
Actions and Indications: The plant is aperient, digestive stimulant, hypercholesterolaemic, laxative and nutritive.
The fruit of the cultivated apple can be made into a good tea for fevers, and that baked apples can be used in poultices to treat sore throats, fever and inflammation. Apples can be used to clear blood toxins, and are good for the teeth and gums. In the past the fresh fruit has been recommended for constipation, rheumatism, high cholesterol, indigestion and diarrhoea. The dried peel can be made into a tea for rheumatism, perhaps pointing towards a general anti inflammatory action of the fruit. This is interesting in light of the fact that there is a school of thinking that indicates that most ill health develops from inflammation of some part of the body – therefore the old saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' would make a great deal of sense!
The American physicians give quite an assortment of recommendations, including that the malic acid from ripe apples can be used to treat gout. Apples form alkaline carbonates that reduce the appetite through their cooling properties. The bark has been used in the treatment of fevers associated with malaria and influenza, and that it can be used as an alterative and cleanser. The pulp of roasted apples mixed with water can be used to treat some kidney diseases, especially when this is connected to the ureters.
Apples can also be used in the control of hypoglycaemia, to tone the gastrointestinal system. The high pectin content of the fruit is responsible for the fruit's anti cholesterol actions, and can also guard against heart disease and cancer. The flowers can be mixed with the leaves to make an infusion to ward off seasonal respiratory diseases. Apparently the leaves contain phloretin, which is antibiotic. In a slight aside, a combination of apple cider vinegar and raw honey mixed with warm water can be used to help most health problems, as well as to stimulate the production of women's sex hormones, as well as to repair damage to the inner ear, improve hearing, fight viral infections, improve the immune system, relieve fatigue, speed up metabolism and thereby assist weight loss. Lastly, and interestingly, this combination apparently also improves cancer cure rates by a fairly dramatic amount.
Spiritual and Energetic Uses: The apple teaches the lessons of love and faith, generosity and gratitude. It brings self esteem and can be used for destiny – this is probably not surprising in terms of the tree's long standing connection with Samhain (apple bobbing, anyone??) given the various different divination games that utilised apples. The centre of the apple, when cut across the middle, has a five pointed star in. To pagans, the pentacle symbolises the elements in balance, and this could perhaps be another lesson that can be learned from the apple.
Magical Uses: The tree is used for love, healing, garden magic and immortality. It was used as part of a ritual meal to celebrate the festival of Diana in Greece, and is considered to be one of the foods of the dead, so is used in Samhain celebrations – the day is sometimes also known as the Feast of Apples for this reason. Apple blossoms are used in love spells, as are the fruits – there are many charms that have been used for a long time in the art of divining the name of your next lover. Cider can be poured on freshly turned earth as a libation to encourage better plant growth. Apple wood can be used to make excellent wands for use in rituals involving love and the emotions.
The apple has long been associated with fertility Goddesses and can therefore be used for fertility magic and rituals. They are used in spells to gain and continue good fortune, and also as part of rituals to seek knowledge through the Tree of Life. Lastly, the apple can be used as a symbol of security, and to improve the spirits and elevate happiness.
Folklore: Unicorns live beneath apple trees, not overly surprising given the tree's long association with love and beauty! Apples feature in the Greek myths, where a golden apple tree was gifted to Zeus and Hera by the Earth Goddess Titaea or Gaia – this magical tree gave youth and beauty to any who ate the fruit that grew on it. These apples were given to the Atlas's children, the Daughters of the Night, the Hesperides, to protect in their fabled garden in the west. Apple isles feature quite widely in myth and legend, from the garden of the Hesperides to the apple that got the original couple kicked out of Eden, to the fabled Isle of Avalon, the Isle of Apples where King Arthur was laid to rest. The Greek 'Elysian Fields' apparently also translates as 'apple orchards'. It is interesting how the apple represents both sides of the coin – youth and beauty, but also the underworld, the wisdom that can kill. It represents madness in some legends, as well as immortality, the passage of time, the year's turning. Apples represent fertility, the five elements in balance. The famous tale of Troy also featured apples. According to one version, Eris, Goddess of discord, tossed an apple into the midst of the Gods one day, into which was inscribed 'for the fairest' – typically enough, Hera, Athene and Aphrodite all claimed it, and poor Paris got stuck with the job of picking which was the most beautiful Goddess – not a job to be taken lightly, and ultimately a job that would have resulted in a good kicking for Paris whoever he picked! Ultimately he chose Aphrodite, because, as per usual, sex came into the equation. He'd seen the legendary Helen of Troy and fell madly in lust, then abducted her from her husband, precipitating the whole Trojan war. I sometimes wonder whether things would have gone better if King Priam had listened to his daughter, the prophetess Cassandra.
Apple trees are held in high esteem here in Britain, and in many orchards the tradition of wassailing still goes on every year. Slices of bread soaked in cider are hung in the branches, and lots of noise is made to scare away the evil spirits. One tree is named Apple Tree Man, and cider is poured around the roots of the tree in blessing. Apple trees are also most often the trees you find Mistletoe growing on – which makes them doubly blessed by the Druids. The apple orchards around Glastonbury are covered with Mistletoe – a truly beautiful sight.
Dose: Fruit – as much as you like! Bark and leaf – no more than 15 drops per day.
Contraindications: Care should be taken when using the bark or leaf for medicine as they contain cyanogenic glycosides that can be fatally toxic in large doses.
Notes: It seems appropriate at this point to note down a good recipe for making cider vinegar! This is a recipe I have tried out myself, and since it really depends on how many apples you have, I won't bother putting down quantities, just rough guidelines. Peel and core the apples, and either juice the fruit or chop it and put the whole lot into a large earthenware bowl. Let the fruit brown slightly, then cover the whole lot with water – just enough to cover the fruit. Leave in a warm, dark place, covering with a muslin cloth, and leave to ferment for a month or so. When it tastes strong enough for your preferences, strain and bottle it – the cloudy bit at the bottom is the vinegar mother, and can either be used to start another batch of vinegar off or shake up the vinegar before you pour any to mix it all back up again.