First described and given a scientific name as Pyrus malus by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753, from plants cultivated in European gardens. The scientific name of the apple has a long history and has changed often; for many years it was called Malus sylvestris Miller or Malus domestica Borkh.
Probably originally from Central Asia, the exact origins of the domestic apple are still under investigation and extensive hybridization in cultivated types has obscured relationships.
Original watercolour by Elizabeth Twining from The Chief Natural Orders of Plants, pl. 63, held at the Botany Library of the Natural History Museum, London. (Pomaceae - The Apple Tribe)
