The herball or Generall historie of plantes. Gathered by Iohn Gerarde of London Master in Chirurgerie very much enlarged and amended by Thomas Iohnson citizen and apothecarye of London

¶ The Description.

1 THe manured Medlar tree is not great, the body whereof is writhed, the boughes hard, not easie to be broken: the leaues be longer, yet narrower than those of the apple tree, darke, greene aboue, and somewhat whiter and hairy below: the floures are white and great, hauing 〈◊〉〈◊〉 leaues a piece: the fruit is small, round; and hath a broad compassed nauell or crowne at the top: the pulpe or meat is at the first white, and so harsh or choking, that it cannot be eaten before it become soft; in which are contained fiue seeds or stones, which be flat and hard.

‡ 2 There is another which differeth from the last described, in that the leaues are longer and narrower, the stocke hath no prickles vpon it: the fruit also is larger and better tasted: in other respects it is like to the last described. This is the Mespilus fructu prestantiore of Tragus, and Mespilus Domestica of Lobel. ‡

3 The Neapolitane Medlar tree groweth to the height and greatnesse of an Apple tree, hauing many tough and hard boughes or branches, set with sharp thornes like the white Thorne, or Haw∣thorne: the leaues are very much cut or 〈◊〉〈◊〉 like the Hawthorne leaues, but greater, and more like Smallage or Parsley, which leaues before they fal from the tree do wax red: among these leaues come forth great tufts of floures of a pale herby colour: which being past, there succeed small long fruit, lesser than the smallest Medlar, which at the first are hard, and greene of colour, but when they be ripe, they are both soft and red, of a sweet and pleasant taste: wherein is contained three small hard stones, as in the former, which be the kernels 〈◊〉〈◊〉 seeds thereof.

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3 Mespilus Aronia. The Neapolitane Medlar.

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‡ 4 Chamaemespilus. Dwarfe Medlar.

4 There is a dwarfe kinde of Medlar growing naturally vpon the Alpes, and hils of Narbone, and on the rocks of Mount Baldus nigh Verona, which hath been by some of the best learned estee∣med for a kinde of Medlar: others, whose iudgements cannot stand with truth or probability, haue supposed it to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉, of the Alpes: this dwarfe Medlar groweth like a small hedge tree, of four or fiue cubits high, bearing many smal twiggie wands or crops, beset with many slender leaues green aboue, and of a skie colour vnderneath, in shew like to a dwarfe Apple tree, but the fruit is

very like the Haw, or fruit of the white Thorne, and of a red colour. ‡ The floures come forth in the Spring three or foure together, hollow, and of an herbie colour, it growes in diuers places of the Alpes: it is the Chamaemespilum of the Aduers. and the Chamaemespilus Gesneri, of Clusius. ‡