Medlar

Mespilus germanica, the medlar, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub in the family Rosaceae, native to southwest Asia and southeastern Europe and long cultivated throughout temperate Europe. Plants typically reach 3-6 m tall, occasionally to 8 m, with a low, spreading, often somewhat crooked or gnarled habit and a smooth grey to brown bark that becomes scaly with age. Leaves are alternate, oblong to lanceolate, 8-15 cm long and 3-4 cm wide, with finely serrated margins, an acute tip, and a softly pubescent lower surface; they turn rich orange-russet in autumn. The solitary white to pale pink flowers are 3-4 cm across, with five petals and a prominent ring of stamens, borne at the ends of short leafy spurs in late spring. The distinctive fruit is a russet-brown subglobose pome 2-5 cm in diameter with a broad open calyx exposing the carpels; it is hard and astringent when first ripe and must be bletted (softened by frost or storage) before becoming edible, developing a soft sweet pulp reminiscent of apple butter or dates.