# What fruit is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 29, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509 "2015-07-29T20:07:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/1 "2015-07-29T20:07:10Z")
[This tree is in a park near me.](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/Biggirl/maybe%20apple.jpg) I thought it was an apple tree when I took the picture. I thought it was an apple tree, which was weird because there were no other fruiting trees-- apple or otherwise-- near it and there were fruits all over it. On closer inspection, [the fruit only resembled an apple.](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/Biggirl/Fruit.jpg) Anybody know what it is? And, no, i don’t know what it tastes like as I am not in the habit of eating things if I don’t know what they are. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/2 "2015-07-29T20:11:57Z")
Looks like a crabapple. There’s lots of different kinds, and they’re not usually tasty - often very sour. They’re a useful source of pectin if you’re making jam out of another non-pectin-y fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/3 "2015-07-29T20:14:25Z")
I’ve seen many crabapples. This doesn’t really look or feel like an apple up close. It looks and feels much more like a grape. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/4 "2015-07-29T20:20:31Z")
I would also like to add as an afterthought-- my daughter-in-law grew up in “hill country”. That’s what she calls the rural area closer to Pittsburgh that to Philly where she lived. She agrees that Pennsyltucky is not far off the course. Anyways, she says they eat crab apples all the time there. They do not give you a stomach ache, as I was always told. Unless you eat ten or twenty. Also only slightly related to the OP, we have two crab apple trees directly across the street from each other on my block and she is always disappointed because all the apples have worms in them by the time they fall. Or, at least, by the time she gets to them. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/5 "2015-07-29T20:27:09Z")
They could be some monstrous variety of haws, meaning it’s a hawthorn tree. We had what we thought were hawthorns on our previous property and the fruits were teeny-tiny, but a [Google image search](https://www.google.com/search?q=haws&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMI0t6_p5aBxwIVyzSICh3RowLD&biw=1366&bih=634) makes it look like some get to be grape-sized and -shaped. A picture of the tree’s leaf shape would help with identification. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/6 "2015-07-29T20:36:24Z")
How big are they? Also grape-sized? I agree with **Sattua** , it looks like hawthorn fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/7 "2015-07-29T20:37:42Z")
Crab apples, Variety _John Downie_ if I’m not mistaken. > **[Crab Apple 'John Downie' | Thompson & Morgan](https://www.thompson-morgan.com/p/crab-apple-john-downie/cww3373TM)** > > Crab Apple 'John Downie' from Thompson & Morgan - experts in the garden since 1855 ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/8 "2015-07-29T20:38:57Z")
Unfortunately, I didn’t think to snap a close up of a leaf. Those haws look pretty damn close, though. I did a little research into self pollinating fruit trees and found that peach trees are all self-pollinators. This includes peaches, nectarines and apricots and all those there type varieties. So a hawthorn or something in the peach family? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/9 "2015-07-29T20:40:15Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > So a hawthorn or something in the peach family? Not really. They’re both in the rose family, but haws are more closely related to (and similar to) apples than peaches. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/10 "2015-07-29T20:41:43Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > How big are they? Also grape-sized? I agree with **Sattua** , it looks like hawthorn fruit. Yes, grape sized and maybe somewhat larger. They were also quite translucent, like a grape. Not at all apple-like. ---
**Author:** ![half-elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@half-elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/half-elf)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/11 "2015-07-29T20:56:57Z")
I’m fairly certain it is some kind of kumquat or loquat. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/12 "2015-07-29T21:05:28Z")
Looks like a [persimmon](https://www.google.com/search?q=persimmon&biw=1215&bih=540&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIzceE_J6BxwIVyT8-Ch21JQib)to me. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/13 "2015-07-29T21:12:50Z")
Manetout, I meant either hawthorn OR peach family. But I think half-elf nailed it. GIS for loquat shows very much what they look like. The next time I go to the park I’m going to pick one and open it up. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/14 "2015-07-30T00:39:46Z")
My wife is a horticulturalist. She thinks it’s a crabapple tree. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/15 "2015-07-30T00:52:52Z")
Looks like a space pod. You’re likely infested with spores now. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/16 "2015-07-30T00:59:16Z")
When I clicked the link I was sure it was going to be a paw-paw, but its not. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/17 "2015-07-30T03:48:22Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Looks like a crabapple. There’s lots of different kinds, and they’re not usually tasty - often very sour. They’re a useful source of pectin if you’re making jam out of another non-pectin-y fruit. They make delicious jelly by themselves. Plus a ton of sugar. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/18 "2015-07-30T04:20:12Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Looks like a [persimmon](https://www.google.com/search?q=persimmon&biw=1215&bih=540&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIzceE_J6BxwIVyT8-Ch21JQib)to me. They look very much like that to me. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/19 "2015-07-30T04:37:57Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Looks like a [persimmon](https://www.google.com/search?q=persimmon&biw=1215&bih=540&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIzceE_J6BxwIVyT8-Ch21JQib)to me. > [@TriPolar](#): > > They look very much like that to me. Certainly not a persimmon. Note the small leaf-like appendages at the tip of the fruit. Persimmons don’t have those. ---
**Author:** ![half-elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@half-elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/half-elf)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509/20 "2015-07-30T04:41:57Z")
It’s \*\*definitely \*\*not a persimmon. Kumquats are citrus fruits and are not usually eaten raw, so google kumquat and loquat (I couldn’t tell what the leaves are like on the photo you posted) before you bite in to it! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fruit-is-this/726509.md?page=2)