Shrubs or trees, 50–100 dm. Stems 1–several, erect; bark purplish brown or purplish black with scattered pale brown lenticels; short shoots absent; unarmed; young branches hairy; buds triangular-ovoid, apex obtuse, glabrous or scale margins pubescent. Leaves deciduous or semipersistent, cauline, simple; stipules persistent, free, (of vegetative branches) ovate-oblong, rhombic, or lanceolate, leaflike, margins serrate; petiole present, short; blade elliptic-ovate or elliptic-oblong, rarely obovate, 5–8 cm, firm, margins flat, sharply serrate, venation pinnate, abaxial surface yellowish white-tomentose when young, glabrescent. Inflorescences terminal on leafy branches, flowers solitary, internally tomentose; bracts absent; bracteoles present or absent. Pedicels present. Flowers developing before or with leaves, perianth and androecium epigynous, 25–30 mm diam.; hypanthium campanulate, ±constricted, size not recorded, interior brown tomentose, exterior glabrous; sepals 5, reflexed, triangular-lanceolate; petals 5, light to deep pink, obovate; stamens 25, 1/2 length of petals; carpels 5, connate, adnate to hypanthium, indumentum not recorded, styles 3–5, terminal, basally connate 1/3 of length, as long as stamens; ovules many. Fruits pomes, sessile or short-pedicellate, dark yellow, ellipsoid or narrowly ellipsoid, 100–150 mm, glabrous; hypanthium persistent; sepals deciduous; carpels cartilaginous; styles persistence not recorded. Seeds unknown.

Distribution

Introduced; Calif., Asia (China), introduced also in Europe.

Discussion

Species 1.

Pseudocydonia sinensis is morphologically intermediate between Cydonia and Chaenomeles, having the basally fused styles and 25 or fewer stamens of the former and the serrated leaves, glabrous fruits, and deciduous sepals of the latter. It has been placed in both those genera but is anomalous in both.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Pseudocydonia sinensis