Flora of New Zealand Series

Deciduous or semi-evergreen shrubs or small trees, usually armed with spines; stems erect to spreading, sometimes hairy when young. Lvs distributed along young main stems, often in fascicles on short shoots along older stems, shortly petiolate, simple, serrate or crenate; stipules reniform and sometimes large and conspicuous on young shoots, persistent, but caducous on lvs of older wood. Fls solitary or fascicled, distributed along stems, those on older wood appearing before lvs and those on younger wood usually appearing with or after lvs, 5-merous, usually ⚥ sometimes ♂, sessile or subsessile, showy. Hypanthium tubular, closed at apex. Epicalyx 0. Calyx 5-merous. Petals 5, moderately large, spreading, usually pink to red, sometimes white. Stamens 40-60. Ovary inferior, sunken in the hypanthium; carpels 5; styles 5, fused only at base or up to 1/2 of length; ovules many. Fr. an ovoid to subglobose or pyriform pome with leathery carpel walls and some stone cells in flesh near ovary; seeds many in each locule.

3 spp., E. Asia. Naturalised sp. 1.

Chaenomeles spp., commonly known collectively as japonicas, are widely grown as ornamental shrubs. The genus has been extensively studied by Weber, C., J. Arnold Arbor. 45: 161-205, 302-345 (1964). He excluded the anomalous sp. treated here as Cydonia sinensis from Chaenomeles, leaving 3 closely related spp.; those spp. can be hybridised easily and a number of these hybrids are in cultivation. The genera Cydonia and Chaenomeles are related but can be distinguished at all stages of growth; Chaenomeles spp. have ± spiny branches, usually glabrous lvs, sometimes hairy on midrib beneath, the fls few in fascicles, mainly produced before the lvs but with scattered fls later, erect sepals, and the fr. < 70 mm long. Cydonia spp. are unarmed, have lvs villous beneath, at least when young, the fls solitary on leafy shoots, reflexed sepals, and the frs usually 80-150 mm long.