MESP1LUS. 
5. Mefpilus Germanics, common or Dutch medlar: 
Unarmed; leaves lanceolate, tomentofe, underneath; 
flowers feflile, folitary. The common medlar is a fmall or 
middle-fized branching tree. Branches woolly, armed in 
a wild Hate with ftiff fpines, covered with an afh-coloured 
bark. Leaves oval, lanceolate, ferrate towards the point, 
fomewhat woolly, on very fliort channelled petioles. 
Fruit an inferior turbinated berry, umbilicated at top 
with a wide depreffed area, and crowned with the five 
linear calycine leaflets, flefliy, reddifh brown : pulp thick, 
mixed with callofe granules. It contains five gibbous, 
wrinkled, one-celled ftones, in each of which are two 
feeds, but one is ufually abortive, the other is obovate, 
comprefled like a lens, much pointed downwards, whitifli 
with a brown fpot at the top. 
a,.' The wild tree differs from the cultivated one in 
having more flender, ftrigofe, thorny branches, and much 
fmaller leaves, flowers, and fruits. Pallas remarks, that 
all the parts are very fmall in his fpecimens from Perfia, 
with narrower leaves, ferrulate frequently almoft to the 
bafe. In the Perfian medlar, according to Gmelin, the 
leaves are red when they burft from the buds. Spines 
only three or four lines in length, flout, very fharp, 
lpreading. Styles four or five. Fruit much fmaller than 
in the gardens, containing five feeds. Native of the fou.th 
of Europe, and in Alia. Said to grow in all the hedges 
about Mineliiville, but fcarcely to be reputed indigenous 
of.Britain. It flowers in June and July. Mr. Miller makes 
two fpecies of the wild and Dutch medlar. The firft, 
he fays, grows naturally in Sicily, where it becomes 
a large tree. It rifes with a ftraighter flem, and the 
branches grow more upright than thofe of the Dutch 
medlar. The leaves are narrower, and not ferrate. The 
flow r ers are fmaller ; and the fruit is fhaped like a pear. 
( 2 . Mefpilus folio laurino major, the great-leaved 
Dutch medlar. This never rifes with an upright 
trunk, but fends out crooked deformed branches at a 
fmall height from .the ground. The leaves are very large, 
entire, and downy on their under fide. The flowers are 
very large, as is alfo the fruit, which is rounder, and 
approaches to the fhape of an apple. This, bearing the 
largeft fruit, is now generally cultivated: but there is 
one with fmaller fruit, called the Nottingham medlar, 
of a much quicker and more poignant tafte. There are 
other varieties of the fruit, which are now little noticed. 
6. Mefpilus grandiflora, or large flowered barren med¬ 
lar : thorns none ; leaves elliptic-oblong, flightly downy, 
unequally ferrated; flowers nearly folitary, terminal; 
ftyles three. This tree much refembles the preceding, 
but the leaves are ftrongly ferrated, and more elliptical. 
Flowers white, fcentlefs, almoft as big, and much exceed¬ 
ing thofe of all the other fpecies, M. tanacetifolia ap¬ 
proaching them moft nearly in this refpeft. They grow 
moftly folitary, rarely two together, at the ends of fmall 
lateral branches; ftyles never mo;e than three, often 
but two. Fruit fmall, reddifh, with little pulp, rarely 
perfected in England. Cultivated in Chelfea-garden by Mr. 
J. Fairbairn, who is unacquainted with its native country. 
7. Mefpilus arbutifolia, or arbutus-leaved mefpilus : 
"unarmed; leaves lanceolate, crenate, tomentofe, under¬ 
neath. This feldom rifes more than five or fix feet high in 
Virginia, where it grows naturally in moift woods. 
Three or four feet is the greateft height it attains in Eng¬ 
land. Branches few, flender, upright. Leaves alternate, 
pale green above, aftr-coloured underneath. The flowers 
are produced in fmall bunches, on long peduncles, at 
the iides and extremities of the branches; petals dull 
white, with feveral brown fpots on their upper fide. 
Fruit fmall, roundifh, a little comprefled, purple when 
ripe. It flowers in May, and the fruit ripens in October. 
It varies with red, black, and white, fruit. 
8. Mefpilus amelanclrier, or alpine mefpilus : unarmed; 
leaves oval, ferrate, hirfute, underneath. This rifes with 
many flender ftenrs three or four feet high, putting out 
fmall fide-branches, covered with a dark purple bark. 
Leaves three quarters of an inch long, and half an inch 
183 
broad, flightly ferrate. The flowers come out in bunches 
at the end of the fhoots; they are large, and white. 
Fruit fmall, black when ripe, fweet, and good to eat. 
The wood of this flirub is very hard, and the bark is 
black. It has the name ameiancliier from amelanchos, on 
account of the berries having the tafte of honey. Native 
of the louth of Europe. 
9. Mefpilus cliamas-mefpilus, baftard quince, or mef¬ 
pilus : unarmed ; leaves oval, acutely ferrate, fmooth ; 
flowers corymb-capitate. This has a fmooth ftalk, about 
four or five feet high, fending out flender branches co¬ 
vered with a purplilh bark. Leaves about two inches 
long, and one inch and a half broad, yellowiflr green on 
both fides, on long flender foot-ftalks. Flowers four or 
five together in a clofe head, purplilh ; teeth of the calyx 
fhorter than the tube, whereas in M. amelanchier they are 
longer. Haller, Jacquin, and Scopoli, affirm that the 
flowers have only two ftyles. Native of the Pyrenees, 
the mountains of Auftria, &c. Ray found it on the 
higher parts of Jura, near Geneva. 
10. Mefpilus Canadenfis, or fnowy mefpilus': unarmed; 
leaves ovate-oblong, fmooth, ferrate, fharpifh. This is 
a low flirub, feldom more than five feet high, dividing 
into feveral fmooth branches, covered with a purplilh 
bark. The leaves grow upon long flender footftalks ; 
are an inch and half long, and an inch broad, fmooth on 
both fides, and ferrate. The flowers come out in fmall 
bunches at the ends of the branches ; they are about the 
fiz.e of thofe of the common hawthorn, and are lucceeded 
by fmall fruit of a purplilh colour. Native of Canada 
and Virginia. It flowers in April and May. 
11. Mefpilus Japonica, or Japan mefpilus : unarmed; 
leaves oblong, blunt, ferrate at the tip, tomentofe under¬ 
neath. Thunberg fays this is a very large tree in its 
native country. The leaves are rigid, a foot long, ever¬ 
green, fmooth, and fliining on the upper fide, white 
or rufty beneath. Flowers very numerous, white on 
rufty ftalks. Native of Japan ; hardy with us, flowering 
in fpring and autumn, and often ripening its fruit, which 
is globular, an inch in diameter, yellow, not bad eating. 
12. Mefpilus cotoneafter, or dwarf mefpilus : unarmed ; 
leaves ovate, quite entire, fharpifh, tomentole under¬ 
neath, germs fmooth, berries two-leeded, or three-feeded, 
This is a low fpreaaing fhrub, not more than four or 
five feet high, covered with a fmooth afh-coloured or 
purple bark, when young pubefeent, but becoming fmooth 
with age. Leaves alternate; the upper furface bright 
green and fmooth, the lower white-tomentole, finely- 
netted ; they are about an inch long, and three-quarters 
of an inch broad. Flowers peduncled, fomewhat nod¬ 
ding, round and pubefeent, the lize of hawthorn; petals 
fcarcely larger than the calyx, white tinged with purple. 
Native of many parts of Europe and Siberia. Ray oh- 
ferved it on the hills bordering on the Rhine, on mount 
Saleve and Jura. It was cultivated in 1656, by Mr. John 
Tradefcant, junior. It flowers in April and May. 
13. Mefpiius tomentofa, or quince-leaved mefpilus: 
unarmed ; leaves ovate, quite entire, blunt, tomentofe 
underneath; germs woolly; berries five-feeded. This 
has a fmooth ftalk about eight feet high, dividing into 
many fmooth branches. Leaves two inches and a half 
long, of a thick fubftance, dark green on their upper fide, 
but downy on their under, Handing upon fliort foot¬ 
ftalks. The flowers come out of the fide of the ftalk 
upon fhort fmall branches, five or fix growing upon each 
in a clofe bunch : the petals are of a purple colour, little 
longer than the calyx, which is woolly, with blunt feg- 
ments. The fruit is large, roundifn, and of a fine red 
colour when ripe. Cultivated in 1759, by Mr, Miiler. 
It flowers in April and May. 
14. Mefpilus Surinamenfis, or Surinam medlar: fruit 
within heart-fhaped, white. For this fpecies we are in¬ 
debted to Mad. Merian, who gives the following very 
fhort defeription of it: “Being one day in an unfre¬ 
quented place, I difeovered, among other trees, a very- 
tall one, which the people of the country (Surinam) call 
2 the 
