Name: Quince Tree

Scientific name: Cydonia oblonga

Family: Rosales

Flowering period: March - April

Description :

 

The quince is a deciduous tree, with a height of 3 to 8 meters, and is related to the apple and the pear. It comes from the region of Caucasus or Iran, but grows naturally in all the countries of the Mediterranean. As a cultivated plant, it prefers loamy soils, while it needs little, but frequent watering. Its wood is considered very durable. It has large and leathery, fluffy leaves and large white or pink flowers with five petals. Its fruit, the quince, is yellow to golden in color when ripe. The tree can live up to 50 years.

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Usage & History:

 

The quince fruit is used in confectionery. Its durable wood is used in carpentry, while a decoction is made from the leaves of the tree. 

The tree owes its name to the ancient city-state of the northwestern coast of Crete, Cydonia, modern Chania. There, examples of quince cultivation exist from the Neolithic era. According to the myth, at the weddings of Hera and Zeus, all the gods were invited and offered precious gifts. But the most precious gift was given by Gaia, the "golden apples" or quinces, which, whoever consumed them, remained forever young and immortal. Hera was very pleased and planted them in the orchard of the gods, the Hesperides Garden, in the land of Atlas.