These Medlars Sitting on my Kitchen Shelf Our friend Amy Thomson brought these over the other night. Mespilus germanica. Medlars. I've never heard of them...or had I? Shakespeare is saucy about them here and there, most notably in a speech by Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. (My little junior high school heart was broken when he died...) TBH, I'm guessing that my old books left that bit out, like they sometimes do. So, no, I'd never heard of these things, and it was a very educational evening. The fruit has to be "bletted" which basically means you leave them around until they look a bit nasty, at which point they are ready to eat. They taste a little like apple butter. Amy has a tree in her yard, and I'm jealous, because these odd little fruits are really interesting. So going to try to grow the seeds that were left over. I think they're weirdly beautiful.