Apple
Apple, common name for certain related trees of the rose family, and for the pome fruit of the trees. The apple tree, a deciduous plant, grows mainly in the temperate areas of the world. The fruit is a firm, fleshy structure derived from the receptacle of the flower. Apple leaves are broadly oval in shape and are somewhat woolly on the undersides. The flowers in bloom have a rounded appearance. Some apple blossoms are white, but the majority of apple blossoms have stripes or tints of rose. A few apple species bloom with bright red flowers. Apple wood is hard, durable, and very fine-grained. The physical characteristics of the fruit are subject to considerable variation. The skin color may range from green to a deep, blackish red. Shapes, also, are diverse and include oblate and oblong fruits and fruits of a size hardly larger than a cherry or as big as a medium-sized grapefruit. Scientific classification: Apple trees belong to the family Rosaceae. They constitute the genus Malus.