Malus sikkimensis

Malus sikkimensis is a rare species of apple known by the common name Sikkim crabapple. Its Chinese name is xi jin hai tang (锡金海棠).

Malus sikkimensis
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Malus
Species:	M. sikkimensis
Binomial name
Malus sikkimensis (Wenz.) Koehne ex C.K.Schneid.
Synonyms[1]
List Malus baccata subsp. sikkimensis (Wenz.) Likhonos in Trudy Prikl. Bot. 52(3): 28 (1974) Pyrus pashia var. sikkimensis Wenz. in Linnaea 38: 49 (1873) Pyrus sikkimensis (Wenz.) Hook.f. in Fl. Brit. India 2: 373 (1878) Sinomalus sikkimensis (Wenz.) Rushforth in Phytologia 100: 245 (2018)

It bears white and pink flowers and dark red fruit. It was first published in Gatt. Pomac. in 1890.^[1]

It is native to China, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, Tibet and parts of India, where it is threatened due to loss of habitat.^[2]

The edible fruits are a primary source (within India and the Himalayas) of dietary dihydrochalcones and flavonoids (both organic compounds). An extract of the fruit has potential for protective and therapeutic properties.^[3]