Medlar

This ancient hardy fruit looks like a cross between a small apple and a huge rosehip and when ripe is surprisingly hard and green. They must be picked at this stage, but are not edible until they have become fully ripened or even half rotten or ‘bletted’, (what an ancient word!) when they turn brown, soft and edible! In olden times they were stored in sawdust or bran in a cool dark place until they had developed an aromatic flavour. Very few of the extremely large, woody fertile seeds are ever produced.