Maloideae

plant subfamily

Also known as: apple subfamily

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Last updated

June 30, 2026

Quick Summary

Maloideae is a subfamily within the plant family Rosaceae, commonly known as the rose family. This subfamily is characterized by its unique fruit type called a pome. A pome is a fleshy fruit where the floral hypanthium, the part of the flower stalk below the ovary, becomes enlarged and fleshy, enclosing the ovary.12

Examples of well-known plants belonging to the Maloideae subfamily include:
* Apples (Malus domestica)1
* Pears (Pyrus communis)1
* Hawthorns (Crataegus species)1
* Quinces (Cydonia oblonga)1
* Serviceberries (Amelanchier species)1

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Rosales
Evolution
In the subfamily Maloideae, fruit and seed remains have been recognized from the genera Crataegus and Pyrus. Leaf fossils are described for Cydonia, Amelanchier, and Crataegus. In the subfamily Rosoideae, fruits of Potentilla and Rubus are known from the Pliocene Epoch (about 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago)…
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In the subfamily Maloideae, fruit and seed remains have been recognized from the genera Crataegus and Pyrus. Leaf fossils are described for Cydonia, Amelanchier, and Crataegus. In the subfamily Rosoideae, fruits of Potentilla and Rubus are known from the Pliocene Epoch (about 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago)…
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Rosales
Characteristic morphological features
…(plum subfamily), with drupes; and Maloideae (apple subfamily), with pomes. As a member of Rosoideae, strawberries have achenes, although this is not obvious to the casual observer, as they are tiny and occur on the surface of the enlarged flower axis, or receptacle. The pome is unique to Maloideae and…
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…(plum subfamily), with drupes; and Maloideae (apple subfamily), with pomes. As a member of Rosoideae, strawberries have achenes, although this is not obvious to the casual observer, as they are tiny and occur on the surface of the enlarged flower axis, or receptacle. The pome is unique to Maloideae and…
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