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Chaenomeles japonica
Also called Japanese flowering-quince, Japanese Quince, Flowering Quince, Maule’s Quince
Maule's quince is a thorny, deciduous shrub from Japan and Korea, grown for its early spring flowers in red, orange, pink or white. It is a low, spreading shrub that suits hedges, borders and bonsai, and is easy to grow in most soils.
Chaenomeles japonica, called the Japanese quince, Maule's quince, or "Japonica", is a species of flowering quince that is native to Japan.
It is a thorny deciduous shrub that is commonly cultivated. It is shorter than another commonly cultivated species C. speciosa, growing to only about 1 m in height. It is best known for its colorful spring flowers, which are red, white, pink or multicoloured.
The fruit is edible, but hard and astringent, unless bletted or cooked. As with all fruits of the rose family, the pulp is non-toxic and the kernels contain small amounts of poison. The fruit is occasionally used in jam, jelly and pie making as a substitute for its cousin, the true quince, Cydonia oblonga. C. japonica is also popularly grown in bonsai. It accepts all types of soil, but grows very slowly in calcareous soil.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Chaenomeles japonica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
