Cydonia, Crete: see Khaniá.

Any of the fruit shrubs and small trees that make up the genus Cydonia, in the rose family. Common quince (C. oblonga) is native to Iran, Turkey, and perhaps Greece and the Crimea. The raw golden-yellow fruit has a strong fragrant aroma and astringent taste; it takes on a pink colour when cooked and makes an excellent preserve. The Japanese quince (Chaenomeles species) is an ornamental shrub widely used for its flowers, which appear on the tightly branched stems before the leaves open fully in late winter and early spring.

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