But this is not quite the end of the story.
In the medlar's native territory near the Caspian Sea, the fruit remains as popular as ever. It's still widely grown in Iran, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Turkey, where it's sold in markets as musmula. Steward says she once received a message from a Kyrgyzstani family who had moved to England and were desperate to recreate the experience of foraging for wild medlars that they had to leave behind.
The plant also has a long history as a folk medicine in the region. In the rural province of Gīlān in northern Iran, medlar leaves, bark, fruits and wood are traditionally used to treat a range of ailments, such as diarrhoea, stomach bloating and menstrual irregularities.
Intriguingly, this is similar to how it was used in medieval Europe. The 17th Century botanist and doctor Nicholas Culpeper wrote that it could be help women "when their courses flow too abundant", and a poultice made from dried fruit, beaten and mixed with cloves, nutmeg, red coral and the juice of red roses could be applied to ease the stomach.
Fast-forward to 2021, and the medlar is now not quite so little-known in Europe as it once was. Two millennia after its seeds dropped into a Roman toilet, it's begun quietly sneaking back into public awareness – largely thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts such as Steward, who markets her own range of medlar products, which range from jam to gin.
Who knows, if the medlar takes off again it might soon have a new generation of unspeakable names to go by.
Zaria Gorvett is a senior journalist for BBC Future and tweets @ZariaGorvett
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The Link LonkMarch 26, 2021 at 08:03AM
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210325-the-strange-medieval-fruit-the-world-forgot
The strange medieval fruit the world forgot - BBC News
https://news.google.com/search?q=rotten&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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