A small tree, growing on a roadside verge in Worcestershire, became the topic of conversation when a group of us taking part in a conference on traditional orchards passed it on the way to visiting the neighbouring community orchard. None of us knew what it was; the local guide was unable to name the tree and neither were the arboriculturists in the group.

We determined to find out and I brought back to Kent for identification samples of the leaves, which were pubescent and very variable in shape, and the immature fruits. Dr Alison Lean of Imperial College National Fruit Collections thought it was probably the rare hybrid between Mespilus (Medlar) and Crataegus (Hawthorn). This identification has been  confirmed by Dr Mark Spencer the Curator of the British Herbarium at the Natural History Museum and is probably a new vice-county record. This would mean that the species has never before been recorded from this part of Worcestershire.

The generic name is x Crataemespilus and the species is x Crataemespilus grandiflora, described as occurring sporadically as isolated trees, very scattered through Britain. The common name is Haw-medlar. The fruits are similar in shape to medlar fruit but are much smaller and the sepals are small and reflexed unlike the sepals of the fruit of the true medlar Mespilus germanica or the graft hybrid + Crataegomespilus  dardarii.