Saw this in a city park today. One tree still had all of its foliage while another had just the fruit. I am pretty certain that it is a crab because I broke open one of the fruit and it smelled like an apple. The fruit is about the size of the end of your thumb.

Hi Paul. According to Dirr, if the fruit is smaller than 2 inches, it is a Crabapple. That being said, there are dozens of Malus species...I did find this info from Micheal Kuhns...he seems to have the definitive work on trees of Utah. This PDF is from USU and deals strictly with Malus species in Utah...with pictures. I hope it is useful to you.

http://www.treebrowser.org/ass...

Thanks....you would think that I, living in Utah, would know where to look. This will help. I listen to a radio gardening show every Saturday and they regularly recommend the USU sites. I will spend some time exploring......

This could be very difficult! Purple leaves which are quite rounded may help. For interest, I found a bit of history ..

http://www.wadleyfarms.com/his...

These trees don't look terribly ancient, one which has purple leaves in spring and autumn is Malus 'Royalty'.

http://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk...

An upright crab, bred in Canada in the early 1950s

http://www.barcham.co.uk/trees...

http://www.thehoneytreenursery...

Thanks Janet....the Wadley Farms link would not download...it timed out. I'm curious as there is a Wadley Farm near by. I believe this is a newer cultivar. The park is only several years old and I think they would have chosen newer crabs. I'll be interested to see them bloom next spring.

The Honey Tree Nursery is selling Royalty, often a good cultivar keeps on keeping on but it can't be said for certain what it is. Watch for flowers next spring, the shape is correct.

You must have a slow connection Paul, the Wadley Farms link comes straight up for me. A little of the history :

Joseph Wadley was born December 23, 1830 in Newent, Gloucestershire, England. Joseph was 21 years of age when he was taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1853, at the age of 23, Joseph immigrated to Utah Territory to be with the main body of the Church. In 1869, Joseph Wadley, because of the homestead act, was granted legal title to 32 acres on Lindon Hill, outside of Pleasant Grove, Utah.

In 1988 the current owners purchased 20 acres of the original farm along with the home and as a tribute to them, named it Wadley Farms.

It may be rather time consuming to find exactly which species/cultivar you have. from all the browsing, it seems there are over 100 varieties commonly planted in the US.

A suggestion would be to contact your Parks and Recreation Dept for that area and ask them for info on the crab apple species/varieties used in that park.

Hi moon and all:

New here, but not to woody plants. I think you need to revisit your assumptions from the original post.

Note the prominent thorns in the first image. That's no crabapple - I believe you are looking at some sort of Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.).

Viburnum Valley...good thing you showed up...I must admit I didn't see the thorns for the trees...ahem. In my case, classic power of suggestion...I looked no further than "pretty sure it is a crabapple" Think I need a refresher course in VV tree ID....

I think it is a crab. If you mash the fruit it smells just like other apples. I looked at the trees again today and didn't see any thorns.....I think what you see in the picture are spurs. I went to the Parks Department and asked but the fellow who was there didn't know but is going to try and find out for me. He said they are a mess for putting up suckers.

I can't contest your olfactory senses, but you might compare the mashed fruit with other trees that you do believe are Hawthorn.

I think that tree is likely a Lavalle Hawthorn (Crataegus x lavallei). See this link to Utah State University information:

http://www.treebrowser.org/ind...

You have 99.9% convinced me. Thanks Scott

Hopefully, the goal is to be sure what the plant is - in case you want one for yourself. Being convincing can be helpful, but not always!

Now: ask me about viburnums...