Chaenomeles Lindl.

Flowering Quince

Greek chaino — to gape, melon — apple, referring to the incorrect belief that the fruit splits open.

Deciduous shrubs or small trees, sometimes with thorns. Leaves simple, alternate, toothed; stipules kidney-shaped, stalked. Flowers solitary or in axillary clusters in early spring, before the leaves. Sepals and petals 5 (petals numerous in some cultivars). Stamens 20 or more. Carpels 5, united below and topped by 5 styles, which are also united at the base. Ovary inferior, with numerous ovules. Fruit a stalkless, hard, quince-like, fragrant pome.

Grown for the ornamental flowers which mostly appear before the leaves in late winter and early spring.

A number of cultivars that were available in the early part of the century appear to be no longer available.

3 species from E Asia.

Seed, root cuttings and semi-hardwood cuttings, sometimes grafting.

The hard fruits are sometimes used in preserves.

Kidney-shaped stipules. Differs from Cydonia in having toothed leaves, deciduous sepals, numerous stamens, and styles that are fused at the base.

Weber (1963, 1964).

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Rosaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.

Hero image
kingdom Plantae
phylum   Tracheophyta
class    Magnoliopsida
superorder     Rosanae
order      Rosales
family       Rosaceae
Higher taxa
Subordinate taxa
species         Chaenomeles japonica (Thunb.) Spach
species         Chaenomeles speciosa (Sw.) Nakai