Medlars (Medlars)
West Dean Gardens, Singleton, West Sussex.
Mespilus, commonly called Medlar, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the subfamily Maloideae of the family Rosaceae. One, Mespilus germanica, is a long-known native of southwest Asia and possibly also southeastern Europe (Black Sea coast of modern Turkey), and the other, Mespilus canescens, was recently (1990) discovered in North America.
Mespilus germanica features an unusual apple-like fruit that requires bletting to eat; although not widely eaten today, consumption of these fruits was much more common in the past.
Mespilus germanica can most commonly be found today in Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe, i.e. along the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey. The fruit is native to Asia Minor, as well as the Caucasus and Northern Iran, and has an ancient history of cultivation; it was grown by the ancient Greeks and Romans, beginning in the 2nd century BCE. Mespilus germanica was a very popular fruit during the Victorian era; however, it is a fruit which is now rarely appreciated except in certain areas, such as the northern province of Gilan (Persian: استان گیلان) and Mazandaran (مازندران)in the Caspian sea region of Iran, across the central Balkans and in the Caucasus.
Medlars (Medlars)
West Dean Gardens, Singleton, West Sussex.
Mespilus, commonly called Medlar, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the subfamily Maloideae of the family Rosaceae. One, Mespilus germanica, is a long-known native of southwest Asia and possibly also southeastern Europe (Black Sea coast of modern Turkey), and the other, Mespilus canescens, was recently (1990) discovered in North America.
Mespilus germanica features an unusual apple-like fruit that requires bletting to eat; although not widely eaten today, consumption of these fruits was much more common in the past.
Mespilus germanica can most commonly be found today in Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe, i.e. along the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey. The fruit is native to Asia Minor, as well as the Caucasus and Northern Iran, and has an ancient history of cultivation; it was grown by the ancient Greeks and Romans, beginning in the 2nd century BCE. Mespilus germanica was a very popular fruit during the Victorian era; however, it is a fruit which is now rarely appreciated except in certain areas, such as the northern province of Gilan (Persian: استان گیلان) and Mazandaran (مازندران)in the Caspian sea region of Iran, across the central Balkans and in the Caucasus.