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Mespilus germanica
Also called Common Medlar
Medlar is a deciduous large shrub or small tree grown for its fruit, which is hard and sour until bletted (softened after frost or storage) in winter. Cultivated forms are usually grafted and are typically grown as a small, mostly thornless tree.
Mespilus germanica, known as the medlar or common medlar, is a large shrub or small tree in the rose family Rosaceae. When the genus Mespilus is included in the genus Crataegus, the correct name for this species is Crataegus germanica (L.) Kuntze.
The fruit of this tree, also called medlar, has been cultivated since Roman times. It is usually available in winter and eaten when bletted. It may be consumed raw and in a range of cooked dishes.
The species may have been cultivated for as long as 3,000 years. The ancient Greek geographer Strabo refers to a μέσπιλον (méspilon) in Geographica, Book 16, Chapter 4. The medlar was introduced to Greece around 700 BC and to Rome about 200 BC. It was an important fruit plant during Roman and medieval times. By the 17th and 18th centuries, however, it had been superseded by other fruits, and is cultivated much less today.
M. germanica pomes are one of the few fruits that become edible in winter, making it an important tree for gardeners who wish to have fruit available all year round.
From an extensive study of literature and plant specimens, Kazimierz Browicz concluded that the true homeland of M. germanica is only in the southeastern part of the Balkan peninsula, in Asia Minor, on the Caucasus, Crimea, northern Iran, and possibly also in Turkmenistan. It is also found in southeastern Europe, especially the Black Sea coasts of Bulgaria and Turkey. Fossil remains, however, have been reported from a wider area, including from Oriolo, Italy (c. 800 kya thousand years ago) and Burgtonna, Germany (130-115 thousand years ago), dating from the Pleistocene.
The fruits are hard and acidic even when ripe, but become edible after being softened, "bletted", by frost, or naturally in storage if given sufficient time by reducing tannin content and fruit acids, increasing sugar content, and changes in the content of minerals.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mespilus germanica 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.
