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Chaenomeles cathayensis

Common name:	Chinese Quince	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	(Hemsl.)Schneid.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 266
Synonyms:	Cydonia cathayensis (Hemsl.), Chaenomeles laganaria cathayensis ((Hemsl.)Rehder.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China.
Habitat:	Scrub and hedges in W. Hubei[184]. Slopes, forest margins and roadsides at elevations of 900 - 2500 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. lagenaria var. cathayensis[G] C. lagenaria var. wilsonii[G]
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 3m by 3m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in April, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - very harsh raw but fragrant when cooked[1, 3, 4, 11, 177]. It makes an excellent jelly[183] and a very good jam, it is especially good cooked with apples in apple pies[K]. The fruit is very large and can be 15cm long and 9cm wide[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiemetic; Antirheumatic; Antispasmodic; Digestive.

The fruit is antiemetic, antirheumatic, antispasmodic and digestive[176]. It is used in the treatment of rheumatic pain, convulsions of the calf muscles, vomiting, dyspepsia and diarrhoea[176].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Easily cultivated in any reasonably good soil[1, 200]. Prefers a deep moist well-drained loam[4, 11]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Tolerates full shade but requires a sunny position for best fruit production[3, 11, 200]. Becomes chlorotic on very alkaline soils[188, 200]. Tolerates atmospheric pollution[200].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is hardy to about -25°c[200].
Plants are subject to canker, especially when growing in the milder moister areas of Britain[49]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
Fruits are usually freely produced in Britain, but they do not always ripen[11, 182]. The plant grows and fruits well on a south wall at Kew[K].
A good bee plant, flowering early in the year and providing pollen and nectar[108].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a sheltered position outdoors or in a cold frame[200]. Sow stored seed in February in a greenhouse[78]. Germination usually takes place within 6 weeks[78]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle. If well grown, these seedling can be large enough to plant out in the summer, but give them some protection in their first winter. Otherwise plant them out in late spring of the following year[K].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[11].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, November in a cold frame.
Layering in late spring or in autumn. This is a sure and easy method, though it takes 12 months[78, 200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[3] Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7
A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[49] Arnold-Forster. Shrubs for the Milder Counties.
Trees and shrubs that grow well in &ndndndnd and other mild areas of Britain. Fairly good, a standard reference book.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

Plant Passporting

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Wed Sep 26 16:58:15 2001

This information has been taken from DEFRA Guide to Plant Passporting. Which places restrictions on plants which can be traded in the UK and the EU mainly because they are carriers for pests and diseases.

Beta vulgaris (Beet), Chaenomeles (Ornamental quince, Japonica), Citrus (Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc.), Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster), Crataegus (Hawthorn), Cydonia (Quince), Eriobotrya (Includes loquat), Fortunella and hybrids (Kumquat), Humulus lupulus (Hop (including ornamentals)), Malus (Apple (including ornamentals)), Mespilus (Medlar), Poncirus and hybrids (Ornamental citrus), Prunus (other than Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica) (Includes almond, apricot, cherry, damson, greengage, nectarine, peach, plum, sloe and ornamental/flowering varieties), Pyracantha (Firethorn), Pyrus (Pear (including ornamentals)), Solanum (stolon or tuber forming types) (Potato), Sorbus (other than Sorbus intermedia) (Includes rowan and whitebeam), Stranvaesia (Stranvaesia), Vitis (Grape, includes grape vine and ornamental grape).

Many other plants require pasporting for commercial growers, these include Abies, Allium ascalonicum, Allium cepa, Allium porrum, Allium schoenoprasum, Apium graveolens, Plants of the family Araceae, Argyranthemum, Aster, Brassica, Castanea, Capsicum annuum, Cucumis, Dendranthema, Dianthus and hybrids, Euphorbia, Exacum, Fragaria, Gerbera, Gypsophila, Helianthus annuus, Impatiens (all varieties of New Guinea hybrids), Lactuca, Larix, Leucanthemum, Lupinus, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, Plants of the family Marantaceae, Medicago sativa, Plants of the family Musaceae, Nicotiana, Pelargonium, Persea, Phaseolus, Picea, Pinus, Platanus, Populus, Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica, Pseudotsuga, Quercus, Rubus, Plants of the family Solanaceae (other than plants of stolon or tuber forming species of Solanum and their hybrids), Solanum melongena, Spinacia, Plants of the family Strelitziaceae, Tanacetum, Tsuga, Verbena.

Cross references: Plants: Beta vulgaris, Humulus lupulus. Genera: Chaenomeles, Citrus, Cotoneaster, Crataegus, Cydonia, Eriobotrya, Fortunella, Malus, Mespilus, Poncirus, Prunus, Pyracantha, Pyrus, Solanum, Sorbus, Stranvaesia, Vitis.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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