A genus of flowering shrubs related to the apple, native to Asia, commonly grown as ornamentals and bearing hard, fragrant fruits used in cooking.
From Greek χαίνω (chainō) meaning to gape or open, and μῆλον (melon) meaning apple, named for the fruit's appearance.
Quince (Chaenomeles species) can't be eaten raw because of their extreme sourness and hardness, but they were so valued by medieval Europeans that they kept them in their chambers for fragrance—luxury before perfume.
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