Flowering Quince

Description:

Flowering quinces (Chaenomeles speciosa) are grown for their warm-colored flowers and thorny, gray-brown branches. Waxy flowers emerge before or during the first flush of growth in early spring -- anywhere from late January through March in the South, March and April in northern regions. Individual flowers are borne on the branches, looking something like apple blossoms in their form. Some have a single ring of petals, others many overlapping ones. Flowering quince braves the unpredictable early-spring weather to provide an explosion of color that arrives weeks before that of other spring-flowering shrubs. The flower color depends on the cultivar grown. When in flower, the shrubs attract bees.

Habitat:

Wildlife habitat yard on Lake Lewisville.

Notes:

In fall, quinces produce hard, greenish-yellow fruit about 2 inches in diameter. The fruit is not ornamental, it is very astringent, so it's no good to eat raw. But have a high pectin content and reportedly makes a tasty jelly or marmalade.