User:TucanHolmes/The Medlar Mixup

Lots of things are colloquially known as "medlar" in multiple European languages. This is partly due to similar appearances of plants ("medlar" used as descriptor for a type of fruit or leaf shape) and partly due to actual botanical confusion, in the sense of erroneous categorization. (For example, Cormus domestica was incorrectly classified by some as Mespilus domestica.)

This results in an ongoing confusion of the various "medlars", as evident in the many articles referring to those species and the products derived from them (especially culinary). To further complicate matters, in some cases one type of medlar was used historically, only to be replaced by a different type later. Since these species were at the time considered to be part of the same genus (even by botanists), the shift in usage is often obscured linguistically, so care should be taken when interpreting sources referring to "medlars", especially in Europe and after the 18th century.

The two species which are most frequently confused are: Mespilus germanica, also known as the (common) medlar, and Eriobotrya japonica, also known as the loquat, but also mistakenly known as the (Japanese) medlar. This also occurs in other languages:

• In German, the word Mispel (with or without modifications) can refer to many different species in various genera, among them Mespilus, Cotoneaster (known in German as Zwergmispel or Strauchmispel), Photinia (known as Glanzmispel), and of course the loquat, which is known in German as Japanische Wollmispel.
• In Italian, the term nespola is also used to refer to both common medlars and loquats.