Article

The principal wild progenitors of the cultivated apples and pears grown in Europe and west Asia are the crab appIe (Malus sylveslris (L.) Miller, and wild Pyrus communis L. subsp. communis = P. pyraster Burgst.). Both are widely distributed over Europe and southwest Asia. The wild primary gene pools of these fruit crops are, however, much wider. They include most (and perhaps ali) of the congeneric wild relatives of these crops.