Il Nespolo, un frutto che "nnutica"

Editorial Staff 26 August 2022

The common medlar (Mespilus germanica L.) is a fruit tree that belongs to the Rosaceae family, it is also called German or European medlar.

We easily encounter it almost wild in uncultivated fields. The fruits resemble small bronze apples surmounted by a crown of persistent sepals. They are harvested in autumn unripe and are left to ripen on straw.

In Salento these fruits are called medde. A Salento saying goes:

three things that hurt the heart: the medde, the apples and the words. I translate: there are three things that hurt the heart: the medium ones (because they are rich in tannins, if you eat them unripe, you just can't swallow them because of the sourness). For the same reason quinces have the same effect, if they are too unripe. Finally, words when they offend us.

In Europe, as in other countries of the world, the medlar has been gradually replaced by the Japanese medlar (Eriobotrya japonica), both as a fruit tree and as an ornamental.

The plant is an evergreen broadleaf, quite vigorous. Its natural shape is global with a rounded crown. Flowering is late, in fact it occurs in autumn. The flowers are found gathered in clustered inflorescences and are star-shaped covered with hair, which serves to protect them from the cold. They are also delicately scented.

The medlar seed occupies a large part of the fruit and can be just one or can have up to four, depending on the variety. As for the soil, it does not like calcareous or clayey soils, due to the consequent water stagnation. The fruits are rich in vitamins A, B and C, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.

Claudia Miggiano

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The Medlar, an Apulian fruit

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The Medlar, an Apulian fruit

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