Cydonia oblonga seed
LATIN NAME: Cydonia oblonga
COMMON NAME: Quince
Few orchard fruits carry so much scent as the ripe quince. The broad, open, deciduous tree or large shrub carries the simple, oval leaves and the large, solitary, pink to white flowers in the late spring, to be followed by the large, hard, fragrant, golden-yellow fruits with the fine, downy bloom. The ripe fruits fill a whole room with their scent, and the tree is one of the old, generous fruit trees of the temperate orchard. It is a tree of the deep, rich, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The quince has a long, particular record in the plant science, studied for the large, hard, fragrant fruits and the fine, downy bloom. Researchers have looked at the way the fruits hold their scent and their pectin through the autumn, and the tree keeps showing up in the work on the old orchard fruits, the pome fruits and the members of the rose family. The simple, oval leaves and the broad, open habit have also made it a fine garden tree, and the quince is a regular subject of the studies of the preserving fruits of the temperate world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The quince is a tree of the old orchards with a very long list of uses. The hard, fragrant, golden fruits are too tart to eat raw but they cook into the fine, rose-coloured jellies, pastes, butters and preserves, and the old quince paste is one of the great delicacies of the Mediterranean table. The fruits are also set in the bowl to scent a room, and the tree is a fine, generous presence of the orchard, the large border and the kitchen garden. It has drawn attention in the international culinary and the horticultural press for the scent and the old preserving uses, and it is a fine, long-lived tree of the deep, rich, well-drained garden.
The quince is one of the old pome fruits of the temperate orchard, and the hard, fragrant, golden-yellow fruits cook into the fine, rose-coloured jellies, pastes and preserves. The fruits are too tart to eat raw, but a single ripe quince will scent a whole room.
To grow the quince from seed, mix the seeds with damp sand in a jar and keep it in the fridge for two months, then sow them a centimetre deep in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep the pots in a bright, sheltered spot and water gently. The seedlings come up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. Give them the sun and the deep, rich, well-drained ground, and the fragrant golden fruits will come in a few seasons.
Cydonia oblonga – Quince – is a small deciduous tree native to rocky slopes and woodland margins in South-west Asia,that bears a fruit, similar in appearance to a pear, and bright golden-yellow when mature. Throughout history the cooked fruit has been used as food,but the tree is also grown for its attractive pale pink blossom and other ornamental qualities.The tree grows 5 to 8 m high and 4 to 6 m spread.
Hardy to -15°C and under.