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Pseudocydonia
Pseudocydonia sinensis, the Chinese quince, is the only species in its genus: a deciduous or semi-evergreen tree of the rose family, native to southern and eastern China, grown for its fragrant fruit and as an ornamental. It is commonly grown as a garden tree rather than a houseplant.
Pseudocydonia sinensis or Chinese quince (Chinese: 木瓜; pinyin: mùguā) is a deciduous or semi-evergreen tree in the family Rosaceae, native to southern and eastern China. It is the sole species in the genus Pseudocydonia. Its hard, astringent fruit is used in traditional Chinese medicine and as a food in East Asia. Trees are generally 10–18 metres (33–59 ft) tall.
The tree is closely related to the east Asian genus Chaenomeles, and is sometimes placed as Chaenomeles sinensis, but lacks thorns and has single, not clustered, flowers. Chinese quince is further distinguished from quince, Cydonia oblonga, by its serrated leaves and lack of fuzz.
The fruit is hard and astringent, though it softens and becomes less astringent after a period of frost (via the process of bletting). It can be used to make jam, much like quince. In Korea, the fruit is used to make mogwa-cheong (preserved quince) and mogwa-cha (quince tea).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pseudocydonia 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.
