The wild apple can be classified as an endangered tree species throughout Germany. The reasons for its rarity and endangerment lie in its competitive weakness in relation to forestry tree species, which displaces it and - also due to a lack of silvicultural support – in managed forests in marginal and peripheral locations. In addition, there is a risk of genetic introgression through cultivated apples.

In Germany, there are still approx. 5,500 individuals in approx. 250 natural occurrences. Most of the populations are located in Mecklenburg, southern Lower Saxony and southern Baden-Württemberg; most individuals in Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Württemberg.

Important gene conservation centres are located in southwest Germany, in central Germany, in the Eastern Ore Mountains as well as in northern Brandenburg and on the Baltic Sea coast of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.