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["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

Seed number could vary with how well the flowers were pollinated.  You can get a good sized fruit even with relatively few seeds.  Try Google Images for Chaenomeles cathayensis.  I found some pictures of the flowers that looked like what I have, and some limbs and leaves that fit, also.   The leaves are very long and narrow lanceolate, while Cydonia leaves are much rounder, more like an apple leaf.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
On Oct 29, 2005, at 6:40 PM, O'Barr, R. D. wrote:

That seems to fit the description in terms of flowers, etc. I thought I remembered the fruit that I took the seed from as having many many seeds as I had dozens of plants in pots from it. However, these fruits have very few seeds and a small core on the order of a pear sized core.
R. D. O'Barr
Zone 7
1200 ft elevation msl
> <x-tad-bigger>----- Original Message -----</x-tad-bigger>
> <x-tad-bigger>From:</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> </x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>Lon J. Rombough</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> </x-tad-bigger>
> <x-tad-bigger>To:</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> </x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>North American Fruit Explorers</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> </x-tad-bigger>
> <x-tad-bigger>Sent:</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> Saturday, October 29, 2005 1:11 PM</x-tad-bigger>
> <x-tad-bigger>Subject:</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> Re: [NAFEX] Quince</x-tad-bigger>
>
> Makes me wonder if you have Cydonia quinces or one of the Chaenomeles quinces, such as Chaenomeles cathayensis. I haven't heard of many people as far south as Shreveport, LA being able to grow Cydonia quinces, but Chaenomeles cathayensis will grow in the south. I've got some started from seed collected in South Carolina. It's a large shrub with very wicked thorns and flowers that are usually pink or red on the outside and white or cream on the inside. The aroma of the fruits varies. The fruits are big as softballs, though, and really hard. They are quite acid and cook up into a very tart sauce.