''Mespilus'', commonly called medlar, is a monotypic genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the family Rosaceae 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 eat ...

'' 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 are ...

. It is also found in some countries in the Balkans, especially in Albanian regions. A second proposed species, ''

Mespilus canescens ''Mespilus canescens'', commonly known as Stern's medlar, is a large shrub or small tree, recently discovered in Prairie County, Arkansas, United States, and formally named in 1990. It is a critically endangered endemic species, with only 25 pla ...

'', 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 In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

large shrubs to small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s growing up to tall. The fruit is a matte brown pome.

History

''Mespilus germanica'' is apparently native only to southwest Asia and southeastern Europe, i.e. near the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coast and western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

, 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 The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

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 lette ...

, beginning in the second century BC. It was a very popular fruit in Western Europe during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, but has fallen out of favour there.

Extant Species

Related plants

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

Peraphyllum ''Peraphyllum'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the rose family, containing the single species ''Peraphyllum ramosissimum'', commonly known as the squaw apple or wild crab apple. Translated from the Greek, the genus ''Peraphyllum'' ...

'', and ''

Malacomeles ''Malacomeles'', or false serviceberry, is a genus of flowering plants in the Rosaceae. It is most closely related to '' Amelanchier'', '' Peraphyllum'', '' Crataegus'', and ''Mespilus ''Mespilus'', commonly called medlar, is a monotypic g ...

''. 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'' s ...

'' was once considered to be closely related to ''Mespilus''. The

loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family R ...

, 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'' and '' Amelanchier ovalis''.

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, such ...

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