''Mespilus'', commonly called medlar, is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

containing the single species ''

Mespilus germanica ''Mespilus germanica'', known as the medlar or common medlar, is a large shrub or small tree in the rose family Rosaceae. The fruit of this tree, also called medlar, has been cultivated since Roman times, is usually available in winter and eate ...

'' of southwest

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. It is also found in some countries in the Balkans, especially in Albanian regions. A second proposed species, '' Mespilus canescens'', discovered in North America in 1990, proved to be a hybrid between ''M. germanica'' and one or more species of hawthorn, and is properly known as ×'' Crataemespilus canescens''.

Plant

''Mespilus'' forms deciduous large shrubs to small trees growing up to tall. The fruit is a matte brown

pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince. Etymology The word ''pome'' entered English in the late 14th century, and ...

History

''Mespilus germanica'' is apparently native only to southwest Asia and southeastern Europe, i.e. near the Black Sea coast and western Mediterranean, and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, as well as the Caucasus and northern Iran, but it has an ancient history of cultivation and wild plants exist in a much wider area; it was grown by the ancient Greeks and

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, beginning in the second century BC. It was a very popular fruit in Western Europe during the Middle Ages, but has fallen out of favour there.

Extant Species

Related plants

Within the subfamily Amygdaloideae, ''Mespilus'' is most closely related to '' Crataegus'', ''

Amelanchier ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...

'', '' Peraphyllum'', and '' Malacomeles''. The genus ''

Eriobotrya ''Eriobotrya'' is a genus of flowering plants, mostly large evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosaceae, native to woodland in the Himalayas and East Asia. The loquat, ''E. japonica'', is grown for its edible fruit. ''Eriobotrya'' sp ...

'' was once considered to be closely related to ''Mespilus''. The loquat, one of several ''Eriobotrya'' species, was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus ''Mespilus'', and is still sometimes known in some European countries as a medlar and is still sometimes called the "Japanese medlar". Many authors group ''Mespilus'' together with ''Crataegus'' in a single genus. When thus combined, the correct species name is ''Crataegus germanica'' (L.) Kuntze. The common name “snowy mespilus” attaches to certain species of ''Amelanchier'', notably ''

Amelanchier lamarckii ''Amelanchier lamarckii'', also called juneberry, serviceberry or shadbush, is a large deciduous flowering shrub or small tree in the family Rosaceae. Description In spring the plant unfurls new leaves and produces star-shaped white flowers. T ...

'' and ''

Amelanchier ovalis ''Amelanchier ovalis'', commonly known as snowy mespilus (a name which is also attached to the related '' A. lamarckii'') or serviceberry, is a deciduous shrub in the family Rosaceae. Its pome fruits are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. The ...

''.

Fruit

''Mespilus germanica'' features an unusual apple-like fruit. In southern Europe, the medlar fruit ripen fully and can be eaten off the tree, but in northern climates, they require

bletting Bletting is a process of softening that certain fleshy fruits undergo, beyond ripening. There are some fruits that are either sweeter after some bletting, such as sea buckthorn, or for which most varieties can be eaten raw only after bletting, suc ...

to eat. This involves ripening fruit off the tree, usually in a bowl, until soft. Each fruit contains a half dozen or so hard, irregularly shaped seeds that require stratification to germinate. Many cultivars exist, and they are increasingly popular selections carried by perennial and edible landscaping nurseries in North America.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q148723 Rosaceae genera