Once a sister brought me a treat from the Black Sea coast - unusual fruit. It was a loquat. I never saw her before, did not eat. I liked her very much. She began to wonder what characteristics the medlar is famous for, its beneficial properties and contraindications to the use of this fruit.
- Medlar - Useful Properties of
- Medlar - Growing a House
Medlar - what is it? The genus of fruit trees or shrubs of the medlar has approximately 30 species. At our cottages, the plots are successfully cultivated, two types grow:
- is a Caucasian medlar( it is German),
- is a Japanese medlar( Lokva).
They are completely different from each other, but both have a pleasant taste. The fruit of the Japanese variety looks like apricot with a delicate, fragrant flesh inside - it is difficult to transport, store. 
Tree medlar, photo: 
This plant blooms with lush white buds that have a delicate pleasant aroma, somewhat reminiscent of tuberose. Japanese lokva blooms by November, and in May, happy harvest.
The German medlar can be found traveling around the Crimean Mountains, and beyond the borders of our country - in the Balkans, Asia Minor, Iran( northern regions), and Transcaucasia. Due to the widespread use in the Crimean regions, it is often possible to come across another name for a German variety - the Crimean medlar.
Flowering medlar, photo: 
Differences between the Japanese and German medlar:
- The Japanese have one bone, the German one has five small seeds.
- The fruits of the first have a soft peel, bright saturated yellow color, another variety has a dense skin of dark brown shade.
- In Japanese, the color is tied on the shoots of the current year, in the German variety - in the last year.
- Japanese medlar foliage has a fluffy coating, another variety boasts wax leaves.
- Japanese medlar fruits ripen in spring, have a sweet taste, loose pulp. In the German variety, the fruits ripen in autumn, they taste sourish and dense.
- The Japanese variety does not tolerate frosts, the German one is quite cold-resistant.
- The Japanese variety is distinguished by evergreen foliage, the German leaves fall.
Medlar Japanese, photo: 
Medlar German, photo: 
Medlar - useful properties of
It is noteworthy that this plant has no part that would not be used with benefit. Fruits are used fresh, jam is made from them, they make homemade alcoholic drinks, compotes. The stones( seeds) of the medlar are dried and then ground to a powder, and then brewed as coffee. Even bark and foliage are used with skill - they are used to process skin( tanning).Wood is used for the manufacture of various crafts, kitchen accessories.
The medlar is often used for the treatment and prevention of various diseases. Useful elements contained in its fruits have a positive effect on the work of the gastrointestinal tract, restore healthy intestinal microflora. The best home remedy is the fruit's flesh with honey. This useful delicacy helps with inflammations of the respiratory tract, helps to clean the lungs, relieves cough, and makes breathing easier. Decoctions from the leaves of the plant, which have phytoncides and are therefore successfully used for the treatment of bronchitis, are also useful.
Consumption of the fruits of the medlar promotes the excretion of toxins, radionuclides, salts of heavy metals, helps with various kidney ailments.
If you use this fruit for a long time, then the liver, pancreas normalize their work. Medlar fruits are the strongest natural antioxidants, stimulants of the immune system, their use reduces the risk of oncological diseases.
Medlar, photo: 
Also medlar contains many vitamins - this factor favorably affects the functions of the cardiovascular system. The presence of an almost complete list of vitamins of group B, thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine contributes to the normalization of blood pressure, accelerating regeneration processes.
The medlar fruits are so useful that their value can be compared with effective medications, but they are also a product of natural origin. Remarkable is the fact that even after heat treatment the loquat does not lose its useful qualities.
For medicinal purposes, the leaves of the medlar should be harvested in August, and the fruits - with the onset of autumn. In addition to the above-mentioned jams, juices, alcohol tinctures are made from fruit, which can later be used as medicine. To do this, remove the bones from the fruit, and knead the flesh, pour in vodka( for 4 fruits enough 100 grams).For better effect, seeds can also be crushed, chopped, added to fruit pulp. After 5 days, the infusion should be filtered, and then use one tablespoon before meals.
A decoction of the leaves is prepared this way: one tablespoon is poured 200 grams of boiling water, insist 1 hour. This broth can be taken 50 grams after each meal( for general strengthening of the body).For the treatment of peptic ulcer, on the contrary, should be taken orally by 3 tablespoons of broth half an hour before meals. The same infusion helps with bleeding gums. The leaves can also be used as a styptic: it is enough to attach a fresh sheet to the wound or cut a couple of times to stop the blood from flowing.
Medlar fruit has some contraindications - it is not recommended for people suffering from high acidity( the fruits are acidic by themselves).
Young children should be given it little by little, making sure that the child does not have an allergic reaction. Nursing mothers should also use this fruit carefully for a similar reason.
In acute forms of peptic ulcer, gastritis, serious diseases of the duodenum medlar is better not to eat. It is undesirable to consume too much fruit, as this increases the risk of an allergic reaction. Children can eat two fruits a day without a threat to health, adults - 4-5 pieces. 
Medlar - growing a house
Medlar - how to grow a beautiful, healthy tree at home?
There are two ways to accomplish this goal: by seed( seed) or grafting. The most effective result is the reproduction of seeds, since the plant retains all the qualities of the mother tree. Thus, the fruit is cut, the bones are extracted, and then they are immersed for a couple of hours in a solution to stimulate plant growth( Zircon, Appin).To remove the overgrown pulp, as well as for early maturation, you can process the stones of medlar with sandpaper.
A container is prepared in advance, an earthen mixture is poured, which is designed for indoor flowers. Bones should be buried in the soil by about 3 cm, for one pot( one and a half or two liters) enough 5 pieces. After that, you need to pour a little earth, cover the pot with plastic film or glass, set it in a warm room. Water the soil should be as drying, but the airing should be done daily - for a couple of hours to remove the cover from the pot. At the same time, the air temperature should not be lower than + 18 ° C.
The first shoots appear after about 40-50 days, after the appearance of three leaves, young plants, together with a lump of earth, are transplanted separately. This process should be carried out carefully, as the root system of the medlar is fragile. Pin the tip should be if you are interested to get a bush. If you need a tree, then let the development process go by itself, it is better not to interfere. The top also is attached to the medlar did not stretch upwards, with this approach, flowering can be expected in 4-5 years.
The German medlar does not need special care, as it does not bloom in winter. She will be comfortable on the glazed loggia from the north side.
As for the Japanese variety, the first few years will be troublesome - it must be replanted every year, completely replacing the soil. This process is associated with stress for the plant, so it is best to produce it in the summer, after the fruiting has been completed. Japanese lokva begins to bloom in the fall, because of this the introduction of fertilizing should continue throughout the winter.
Since the medlar habitat is in the tropics, it likes a humid climate. That is, she needs daily irrigation from a spray bottle. Watering should be done 3 or 4 times a week, but you should not supersaturate the plant with moisture.
You can also grow medlar by cutting, the process steps are as follows:
- This plant takes root in the dark, so the jar for cuttings should be wrapped in dark paper in advance.
- Fill a jar or other container with water, you can also use a sand and peat substrate.
- Cut the lower part of the branch so that the cut angle is 45 degrees.
- Remove all leaves from the cutting, leaving only a couple.
- Put the cutting into the water or substrate, deepening 5 cm, and water it well.
- Cover with a cut plastic bottle, put in a warm place, you can near the radiator.
After 50-60 days, roots will appear on the cutting. It can be transplanted to permanent residence. Provide a tree with high-quality watering, lighting, you may first have to use a special botanical lamp. The tree grown from the cutting starts to produce fruit after 4-5 years.
As for care, the loquat prefers at least a ten-hour illumination, warm water for irrigation, and weekly sprinkler irrigation. In the summer, a heavy tropical shower that can be arranged at home under a shower does not hurt her.
No matter what method of cultivation you choose, this plant is worth the work and care invested in it. The medlar, the beneficial properties and contraindications of which we have described above, will become for you a real home healer, a decoration of your home. At home, the height of the tree will not exceed one and a half meters, so you can not be afraid that the plant will take a lot of space.
If you live in the south, a seedling grown from a seed or cutting can be planted in open ground.
Here is such a medlar growing in my country. True, it did not grow from the bone - the sapling was bought in the fall of 2015.The top was frozen over in winter, dried up. But from the lower buds, leaflets were poked. Picture taken in the summer of 2016.
And this is the same sapling a year later( spring 2017).Even bloomed the first flower!
I hope that the tree will survive the following winters. .. And it will bring me such a harvest! 
Article edited May 14, 2017.
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