Mespilus is a small, deciduous tree in the family
Rosaceae, closely related to pear (Pyrus) and hawthorn
(Crataegus). Medlars have been cultivated since ancient times for
their edible fruit which, as Alfred Rehder so delicately describes, "after
incipient decay becomes soft and of agreeable acid taste." This
after-ripening, known as bletting, is similar to the ripening
process of American persimmon. Bletted fruit has flesh with the
consistency and taste of apple butter.
The medlar tree blooms and bears fruit when very young. Often a newly
grafted scion will produce flowers and fruit the year it is grafted.
Medlars have been grown on Crataegus, Cydonia, Malus,
and Pyrus rootstocks, and may have potential as a dwarfing
rootstock for apples or pears.
The varieties grown today, including Nottingham and Royal, have been grown
for many centuries. The Repository maintains 14 Mespilus germanica
L. accessions including the cultivars Royal, Nottingham, Breda Giant,
Giant Russian and several old selections from Italy.
J.Postman 11/95
