Editing Quince (section)

== Description ==

Quinces are shrubs or small trees up to {{convert|4|to|6|m|ft|0|abbr=off}} tall and {{convert|3|to|4.5|m|ft|0|abbr=off}} wide. Young twigs are covered in a grey down.<ref name="FAO view crop">{{cite web |title=View crop: Cydonia oblonga |url=https://ecocrop.apps.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/cropView?id=5117 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=2 November 2024}}</ref> The leaves are oval, and are downy on the underside. The solitary flowers, produced in late spring after the leaves, are white or pink.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cydonia oblonga (F): quince |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/5160/cydonia-oblonga-(f)/details |publisher=[[Royal Horticultural Society]] |access-date=2 November 2024}}</ref>

The ripe fruit is aromatic but remains hard; gritty [[Ground tissue#Sclereids|stone cells]] are dispersed through the flesh.<ref name="FAO view crop"/> It is larger than many apples, weighing as much as {{convert|1|kg|lb}}, often pear-shaped but sometimes roughly spherical.<ref name="FAO view crop"/>

The seeds contain [[nitrile]]s, common in the seeds of [[Rosaceae|the rose family]]. In the stomach, enzymes or stomach acid or both cause some of the nitriles to be [[hydrolysis reaction|hydrolysed]] and produce toxic [[hydrogen cyanide]], which is a volatile gas. The seeds are toxic only if eaten in large quantities.<ref name=pfaf>{{cite web |url=https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cydonia%20oblonga |title=Cydonia oblonga Quince |publisher=Plants For A Future}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed>
File:A quince flower.jpg|Flower
File:Cydonia.jpg|Foliage and ripening fruit
</gallery>