Malus sieversii genome of the domestic apples is "Malus baccata", but there is no evidence for this in older apple cultivars. Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, and formerly its capital, derives its name from the Kazakh word for "apple" (Alma), and is often translated as "full of apples" (the region surrounding Almaty is home to forests of "Malus sieversii"); "alma" is also "apple" in other Turkic languages, as well as in Hungarian. The Soviet-era name, Alma-Ata, is Kazakh for "Father of Apples". These and other "Malus" species have been used in some recent breeding programmes to develop apples suitable for growing
Malus are borne in corymbs, and have five petals, which may be white, pink or red, and are perfect, with usually red stamens that produce copious pollen, and a half-inferior ovary; flowering occurs in the spring after 50–80 growing degree days (varying greatly according to subspecies and cultivar). Apples require cross-pollination between individuals by insects (typically bees, which freely visit the flowers for both nectar and pollen); all are self-sterile, and (with the exception of a few specially developed cultivars) self-pollination is impossible, making pollinating insects essential. Several "Malus" species, including domestic apples, hybridize freely. They are used as food plants