Pollinator plant

Medlar

Mespilus germanica

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Common names

36 names · 30 languages
EnglishYour language
Other languages (29)
Dutch
French
  • Nèfle
  • Néflier commun[1][3]
Arabic
  • زعرور بستاني[3]
  • زعرور جرماني[3]
Armenian
  • Զկեռնի գերմանական[3]
Asturian
Bulgarian
  • Мушмула[3]
Catalan
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Czech
  • mišpule obecná[3]
Danish
Finnish
German
Gilaki
  • کونوس، کُنوس[3]
Hungarian
Italian
Japanese
  • セイヨウカリン[3]
Lithuanian
  • Baltažiedė šliandra[3]
Luxembourgish
Mazanderani
  • کِنِس، کندس[3]
Persian
  • ازگیل[3]
Polish
  • Nieszpułka jadalna[3]
  • Nieszpułka zwyczajna[3]
Portuguese
Russian
  • Мушмула германская[3]
Slovak
  • mišpuľa obyčajná[3]
Spanish
Swedish
Talysh
  • فَتَر[3]
Turkish
Sources & name notes (4)

Names recorded in our plant catalogue and botanical sources, grouped by language. Usage can vary by region.

Numbered references identify names recorded by an external source. Other names are from our plant catalogue.

[1] Crataegus germanica — iNaturalist taxon names ↗

Community-curated iNaturalist taxonomy. This is a common-name attestation, not an independent botanical determination.

Source records
  • Medlar — results[0].names[15]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Mispel — results[0].names[18]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Echte Mispel — results[0].names[5]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Mispel — results[0].names[4]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Mispel — results[0].names[16]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • níspero europeo — results[0].names[25]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Néflier commun — results[0].names[7]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Nespolo comune — results[0].names[6]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Nespereira-da-Pérsia — results[0].names[11]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
[2] Catalogue of Life 2026-08-20 — Crataegus germanica ↗

Common names from World Plants, version 26.05, reproduced in Catalogue of Life 2026-08-20. License: CC BY.

Source records
  • Medlar (EN) — VernacularName.tsv, line 171940; taxon KZY7R.
  • Echte Mispel (DE) — VernacularName.tsv, line 171939; taxon KZY7R.
[3] Crataegus germanica — iNaturalist taxon names ↗

Community-curated iNaturalist taxonomy; common-name attestation, not an independent botanical determination.

Source records
  • Medlar — results[0].names[15]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Mispel — results[0].names[18]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Echte Mispel — results[0].names[5]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Mispel — results[0].names[4]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Mispel — results[0].names[16]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • níspero europeo — results[0].names[25]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Néflier commun — results[0].names[7]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Nespolo comune — results[0].names[6]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Nespereira-da-Pérsia — results[0].names[11]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • 欧楂 — results[0].names[1]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • 歐楂 — results[0].names[2]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Զկեռնի գերմանական — results[0].names[3]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Мушмула германская — results[0].names[8]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Mispel — results[0].names[9]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • mispel — results[0].names[10]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Carapanal — results[0].names[12]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • زعرور جرماني — results[0].names[13]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • mišpule obecná — results[0].names[14]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • セイヨウカリン — results[0].names[17]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • زعرور بستاني — results[0].names[19]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Aaspel — results[0].names[20]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Baltažiedė šliandra — results[0].names[21]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Nieszpułka zwyczajna — results[0].names[22]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Nieszpułka jadalna — results[0].names[23]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • naspolya — results[0].names[24]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Mispeli — results[0].names[26]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Muşmula — results[0].names[27]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • mišpuľa obyčajná — results[0].names[28]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • ازگیل — results[0].names[29]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • کونوس، کُنوس — results[0].names[30]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • کِنِس، کندس — results[0].names[31]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • فَتَر — results[0].names[32]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Nesprer — results[0].names[33]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
  • Мушмула — results[0].names[34]; taxon id 1367002; Crataegus germanica.
[4] Royal Horticultural Society — common names ↗

Names retained from the referenced botanical profile or table.

Source records
  • common medlar — Page 2, column 2, row top 97 pt; common-name cell after Mespilus germanica.; Mespilus germanica.
Plant references

Source-backed information

Published observations for this plant. Each reference supports the information beside it.

Taxonomy
Catalogue of Life treats Mespilus germanica as a synonym of Crataegus germanica.

Taxonomic treatment in the August 2026 release; the catalogue record name is preserved.

Sources [1] [2]
Botanical family
Rosaceae

Family in the cited taxonomic treatment.

Sources [2]
Pollinator guidance
RHS includes Mespilus germanica in its Plants for Pollinators guidance.

RHS planting guidance. Choose accessible flowers with pollen and nectar; reduced-resource and double-flowered forms may be unsuitable.

Sources [3]
Native range
Krym, Caucasus to Iran and S. Turkmenistan.

Explicit native locality records in Kew WCVP v16; introduced and doubtful distributions excluded. Continent conversion follows the documented geographic mapping.

Sources [4]
Catalogue ratings

Who this plant supports

Honey bees

Medium suitability
Nectar value Medium
Pollen value Medium
Agroforestry database

Complete plant information

Open full plant profile

Structure

Vegetation layer
Fruit tree
Size
Small
Dimensions
6.00 m high × 6.00 m wide
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifecycle
Perennial
Foliage
Deciduous

Site conditions

USDA hardiness
5-8
Moisture
Moist
Soil
Sandy, Loamy, Clay
pH
Acid, Neutral, Alkaline
Light
Partial shade, Sun

Uses

Edible parts
Fruit
Functions
Timber
Edibility
4 out of 5
Medicinal value
1 out of 5

Fruit - raw or cooked. In cooler areas such as Great Britain, the fruit may not fully ripen but can still be harvested in late autumn, preferably after a bit of frost. Before it can be eaten raw, the fruit must first ripen. This can be done by placing the fruits together, with the stem facing up, in a cool place until they are almost rotten, a process known as bletting. At this point, the white flesh turns brown, becomes very soft, and extremely sweet with a delicious flavor similar to exotic fruit. The fruits of wild varieties are usually up to 25 mm in diameter, although some cultivated varieties can be 65 mm or more.

Sources and references

References for the information marked with source numbers on this page.

Sources checked
  1. Catalogue of Life Mespilus germanica — Catalogue of Life COL26.8

    COL26.8 (2026-08-20). Contributing checklist: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World. This is taxonomic evidence, not an independent ecological study.

    Supports: Taxonomy
    Relevant sections
    • Taxonomy: NameUsage.tsv line 2322581; ID 6RBGS; rank species; status synonym

    Source checked on .

    Source data licence: CC BY 4.0.

  2. Catalogue of Life Crataegus germanica — Catalogue of Life COL26.8

    COL26.8 (2026-08-20). Contributing checklist: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World. This is taxonomic evidence, not an independent ecological study.

    Supports: TaxonomyBotanical family
    Relevant sections
    • Taxonomy: NameUsage.tsv line 4968676; ID KZY7R; rank species; status accepted
    • Botanical family: NameUsage.tsv line 4968676; ID KZY7R; rank species; status accepted

    Source checked on .

    Source data licence: CC BY 4.0.

  3. Royal Horticultural Society RHS Plants for Pollinators — Garden Plants

    RHS planting guidance; applicable flower-form restrictions are retained. General recommendations do not measure local nectar or pollen production.

    Supports: Pollinator guidance
    Relevant sections
    • Pollinator guidance: Page 2, column 2, entry Mespilus germanica (top 97 pt)

    Source checked on .

  4. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Crataegus germanica — Kew WCVP native distribution

    Native distribution and taxonomic treatment from the official WCVP v16 export (4 June 2026). The link opens the corresponding POWO taxon. Source rows are retained in the native-range audit archive.

    Supports: Native range
    Relevant sections
    • Native range: WCVP v16; wcvp_names.csv lines 1436074, 1436077; wcvp_distribution.csv native locality lines 1517282, 1517284, 1517285, 1517286, 1517288, 1517289

    Source checked on .

    Source data licence: CC BY 3.0.