Quince blossom (boke no hana)

nnnnnnnnnnnn TOP nnnnnnnnnnnnn

Quince (boke no hana, Japan)

***** Location: Japan, other countries
***** Season: Spring
***** Category: Plant

*****************************
Explanation


The flower of the quince comes out before the leaves appear, covering the branches with thick red (hiboke ヒボケ緋木瓜）, white (shiroboke　シロボケ白木瓜） or a mix of white and red (sarasaboke　サラサボケ、更紗木瓜） flowers. Some flowers bloom long in spring, others in winter (kanboke 寒木瓜). In my garden, they flower during snowy periods of early sping too.
The plant came to Japan during the Heian period. The fruit smelles nice and was use to perfume a room in autumn and winter.
The flower is enjoyed as a symbol of enduring hardships in life and coping with difficult circumstances.
Gabi Greve

Japanese Quince in Snow
http://www.kconline.com/tg/uraniwa/Chaenomeles.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Japanese Links with nice pictures.

Winter Quince
http://www.hana300.com/aaooboke001.html

Red Quince in Spring
http://www.hana300.com/aaooboke00.html
http://www.hana300.com/boke001.html
http://www.hana300.com/boke00.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles)

is a quite a spectacular plant in any form - and when used as bonsai material, is even more spectacular. In late winter, when most deciduous plants are still bare and lifeless, Quince are valued for their display of red, pink or white flowers on a tangle of bare branches.
Originating in China, Japan and Korea, they are fully frost hardy and adapt to a wide range of garden conditions. The tough, springy branches are often thorny on vigorous shoots; the leaves are simple and finely toothed. The flowers appear in stalkless clusters on the previous year's wood, followed in summer usually by yellow-green fruits with waxy, strongly perfumed skins - although this does depend on species.
http://www.bonsaisite.com/quince.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In cultivation for over 4000 years, this tree has an interesting history. It apparently was native to Turkey and northern Persia - modern day Iran. This was especially popular in Greece and Italy. It became naturalized in the Mediterranean region.

Revered by the ancients, this was reportedly the golden apple that Paris bestowed upon Aphrodite. This was known to the Greeks as Cydonian apples, named after a city in Crete. Under the Romans, the fruits were introduced throughout the empire. This was one of Charlemagne's favorite plants, and he recommended that others grow it. The Normans introduced quince to the British Isles.

Among the earliest tree fruits to be planted in the New World, it was common in backyard orchards during the Colonial era. Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello.

Here's a poem by Li Ch'ing Chao, a Chinese poet from the 11th century:

Last night in the light rain as rough winds blew,
My drunken sleep left me no merrier.
I question one that raised the curtain, who
Replies: 'The wild quince trees - are as they were.
But no, but no!
Their rose is waning and their green leaves grow.
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/fruit_garden/110055

*****************************
Worldwide use

North America
Quince, shrub or small tree of the Asian genera Chaenomeles and Cydonia of the family Rosaceae (rose family).
The common quince (Cydonia oblonga) is a spineless tree with edible fruits cultivated from ancient times in Asia and in the Mediterranean area, where it was early naturalized. Its pome fruit is similar to that of the related apple and pear but is very astringent, and hence it is used chiefly cooked in preserves; marmalade is said to have first been made from quince. As a commercial fruit tree, the quince is cultivated more widely in the temperate zone of Europe than in the United States, where it is grown chiefly in California and New York.

It is often used as a rootstock for dwarf fruit trees, especially the pear. The flowering quinces (genus Chaenomeles) are cultivated as ornamental shrubs for their profuse, usually thorny branches and attractive scarlet, pink, or white flowers. The fruit is too small and hard to be of commercial value but is sometimes used locally. Best known of this genus is C. lagenaria, the Japanese quince, or japonica. Some other Asian shrubs (e.g., a camellia) are also called japonica. Quince is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0840821.html

*****************************
Things found on the way

Quince Jelly Pages
http://cres.anu.edu.au/~mccomas/quince.html

More recipies for Autumn




http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/features/quince.php

*****************************
HAIKU

abandoned web
captures one more-
flowering quince

Kate Steere

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



quince in full bloom -
I just love the smell
of that Siamese tomcat

木瓜満開..シャム君の匂い..タマラネエ

boke mankai
Shamu-kun no nioi
tamaraneeee

O-Tsu musing about her lover boy ...

Gabi Greve
Cats in Paradise

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

a quince blossom
on the inside of the roof
open your window

Geert Verbeke, the Haiku Gallery
http://home.alc.co.jp/db/owa/PH_detail?photo_sn_in=1416

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Haiku abou the Quince in the Shiki Archives
http://haiku.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/~shiki/shiki.archive/html/9801/0483.html

*****************************
Related words

***** Quince Fruit, Quince Jelly: kigo for autumn

Gutui in Romania.

sun’s ambassadors
for cold days yet to come
the yellow quinces

nostalgic pastime:
learning to make quince pell-mell
under Grannie’s eyes

watched by the quince
in the window, while trying
to write a haibun

Cristian Mocanu

Read the full explanation here:
Romanian Saijiki

*****************************

Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
worldkigo@yahoo.com

WHC Worldkigo Discussion Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WHCworldkigo/

Back to the WHC Worldkigo Index
http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.com/