Species name :

Mespilus germanica L.
Published in L., Sp. Pl. 478 (1753)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Mespilus sylvestris

Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [PlantList] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life ]

Plant Family :

Rosaceae L. (The Rose Family)
34 species from the Rosaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Medlar, Mediterranean Medlar

Maltese name(s) :

Fomm il-lipp, Naspli Ġermaniżi, Omm il-Epp

Status for Malta :

Archeophyte. Non-native species, but introduced in ancient times, at least 500 years ago after Columbus discovery of the New World.

Frequency :

Very Common     Common     Frequent     Scarce     Rare     Very Rare     Extinct in the wild

Growth form :

Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Macro-Phanerophyte (high trees usually over 10m )
Germination [info]: Dicotyledon

Legal Protection [link]:

Protected by law: schedule I of legal notice LN200/2011. (Strictly protected tree species)

Red List (1989) :

This species has a threatened status and is listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

Mar-May

Colour of Flowers:

White

Remarks :

This species was recorded from Malta and reported in old literature but has not been seen anymore in the wild for the last couple of decades. If you think that you have seen this species in the wild from Malta, please email here and provide all details possible and ideally images.

Habitat in Europe:

Data will be available in the next update of this website.

Preferred habitat in Malta:

Data will be available in the next update of this website.

Botanical Description:

Shrub or small tree up to 6 m. Leaves 5-12 cm, lanceolate or oblanceolate to obovate, pubescent, but sometimes glabrous above, entire or serrulate towards the apex. Flowers 3-4 cm in diameter. Sepals 10-16 mm, linear-triangular. Petals white. Fruit 2-3 cm, brown, pyriform to depressed-globose.

Distributional range:

S.E. Europe, extending to Sardegna and Sicilia cultivated and naturalized in C. & W. Europe.

Distributional map in Europe
and the Mediterranean region (2018):

Occurrences in Europe.
(from Flora Europaea pre year 1993):

Bulgaria, Greece, Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), Russia and former USSR, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Introduced in  Austria and Liechtenstein, Belgium, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Czeck Republic and Slovakia, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), ex-Jugoslavia, Romania

Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
(Euro+Med Checklist, 2017) - Country codes

Ab Ar dBu dCy Gg dGr Rf(CS) dSy Tu(A) dTu(E) Uk(K) [cAg cAl Au(A L) Be(B L) Bl(I M) Br Co cCr aCs Ct Ga(C) Ge cGr He Ho Hs(S) cIJ It cLi cLS Lu cMa cMk cPo Rm Sa Si(M S) Sk Sl Sr cTn Uk(U)]