Chinese Quince

Pseudocydonia sinensis, the Chinese quince, is a deciduous or semi-evergreen tree of the rose family, native to southern and eastern China and the only species in its genus. Trees are generally 10 to 18 metres tall. It is closely related to the flowering quinces of the genus Chaenomeles, and is sometimes placed in it, but it lacks thorns and bears single rather than clustered flowers. From the true quince, Cydonia oblonga, it differs in its serrated, hairless leaves. Its hard, astringent fruit is used in traditional Chinese medicine and as a food in East Asia. In China the tree and fruit are both called mùguā, a name that also covers papaya and the flowering quince, so the name alone does not identify the plant. In Korea the tree is mogwa-namu and the fruit mogwa. In Japan both are called karin, except in medicine, where the fruit is wa-mokka.