Chaenomeles

Shrubs [or trees], (0.2–)10–20 dm. Stems few to many, erect or spreading; bark purplish brown, blackish brown, purplish black, or purple, with scattered pale brown lenticels; long and short shoots present; thorns present; glabrous or hairy young, smooth older; buds triangular-ovoid, apex obtuse or acute, scale margins glabrous or hairy. Leaves deciduous or semipersistent, cauline, simple; stipules persistent, free, reniform or suborbiculate, rarely ovate, leaflike, margins serrate or crenate-serrate; petiole present; blade spatulate, obovate, elliptic, or ovate, 3–9 cm, firm or leathery, margins flat, serrate or crenate-serrate, venation pinnate, surfaces glabrous, sometimes midvein abaxially. Inflorescences terminal on short branches, appearing lateral on branch as a whole, [2 or]3–5[–10]-flowered, fascicles, glabrous or hairy; bracts present or absent; bracteoles present or absent. Pedicels present, short, or absent. Flowers opening before or with leaves, perianth and androecium epigynous, 25–50 mm diam.; hypanthium campanulate, ± constricted at mouth, 4–7 mm diam., exterior glabrous; sepals 5, reflexed or ascending, suborbiculate or ovate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy; petals 5, white, pink, or red, obovate or ovate to suborbiculate, base short-clawed, apex rounded; stamens 40–60, equal to or 1/2 length petals; carpels 5, connate, adnate to hypanthium, indumentum not recorded, styles 2–5, terminal, basally connate 1/3 of length, nearly equal to stamens; ovules 2. Fruits pomes, sessile, yellow or yellowish green, globose, subglobose, or ovoid, 23–60 mm diam., 5-locular, glabrous; fleshy; hypanthium persistent; sepals deciduous; carpels cartilaginous; styles deciduous. Seeds 10 per locule. x = 17.

Distribution

Introduced; Europe, Asia (China, Japan).

Discussion

Species 4 (2 in the flora).

The flowering quinces are widely cultivated as ornamental shrubs for their attractive and abundant pink, red, or white flowers. Other species differ from those in the flora area in their entire leaf margins and tomentose leaves.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Chaenomeles japonica, Chaenomeles speciosa

Key

1	Branches smooth (not verrucose with age); leaf margins serrate; pomes 40–60 mm diam.	Chaenomeles speciosa
1	Branches scabrous (verrucose with age); leaf margins crenate-serrate; pomes 23–40 mm diam.	Chaenomeles japonica