It's Michigan's third most popular apple for fresh eating or cooking. Honeycrisp: Aug. 22 Honeycrisp apples combine unusual color and sweet flavor. They have a crisp bite and are often used in salads.

However, the goal is not to replace popular varieties like Fuji or Honeycrisp with Malus coronaria apples, since the Michigan tree's fruit is small, green and bitter.

Michigan State University horticulture professor Steve Van Nocker holds wild apples near a Malus coronaria tree Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Meridian Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder) ...

The Michigan Apple Committee said this marks the third year in a hot streak. After a shortened 2021, Michigan has produced above its ten-year average, with 2022 being a record breaker.

A native Michigan apple tree, the Malus coronaria, learned to fight frost by blooming two or three weeks later than the trees that produce cultivated varieties of apples like Honeycrisp or Red ...

Michigan State University horticulture professor Steve Van Nocker holds wild apples near a Malus coronaria tree Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Meridian Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder) ...

Michigan State University horticulture professor Steve Van Nocker holds wild apples near a Malus coronaria tree Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Meridian Township, Mich. Credit: AP/Mike Householder ...

But van Nocker said it's critical to try. "With climate change, it's quite possible that apples won't be able to be produced in Michigan in the future," he said.

Throughout the state, there are nearly 15 million apple trees covering 34,500 acres, according to the Michigan Apple Committee. Those apple trees cover 34,500 acres on nearly 800 family-run farms.

The state is the third-largest producer of apples, and there are nearly 15 million apple trees across 34,500 acres in Michigan. There are also more than 775 family-run apple farms.

The work of these farms and preservation centers is vital. They continue to rediscover apple varieties that were thought to be lost to time and to cross-breed and create new varieties. Alongside ...