on the Caucasus, Crimea, northern Iran, and possibly also in Turkmenia. It is also found in southeastern Europe, especially the Black Sea coasts of Bulgaria and Turkey. The species requires temperate and sub-mediterranean climate conditions with warm summers and mild winters. Air temperatures of are mentioned as favourable for growth, cold of as low as is tolerated and late frosts hardly cause any damage. The wild form was observed in dry areas with annual precipitation of and at altitudes from . The species grows in a wide range of soil types and prefers fresh, well-drained loamy soils with a pH that is between 6 and 8. It is found across southern Europe where it is generally rare. It is reported to be naturalized in some woods in southeast England, but is found in few gardens. Ecology Plant disease M. germanica is only rarely attacked by diseases or harmed by insects. In plantations, the larvae of the leaf-mining butterfly species Lithocolletis blancardella can cause damage. Furthermore, especially in years with high precipitation, the fungus Monilia fructigena can be a problem. It causes brown blemishes on the fruit and continues to spread until the fruit becomes entirely rotten. M. germanica can also be infected by Podosphaera clandestina, the pathogen of powdery mildew, which can lead to the wilting of leaves and buds as well as by Entomosporium mespili that causes leaf spots. The medlar is, like other species of the rosacea family which are used for propagation, susceptible to Erwinia amylovora, the parasitic causative agent of fire blight. Cultivation The species may have been cultivated for as long as 3,000 years. The ancient Greek geographer Strabo refers to a () in Geographica, Book 16, Chapter 4. The medlar was introduced to Greece around 700 BC and to Rome about 200 BC. It was an important fruit plant during Roman and medieval times. By the 17th and 18th centuries, however, it had been superseded by other fruits, and is little cultivated today. M. germanica pomes are one of the few fruits that become edible in winter, making it an important tree for gardeners who wish to have fruit available all year round. Cultivated forms are propagated by inoculation and by grafting on various substrates such as Crataegus (hawthorn) species, mountain ash, pear or quince to improve the performance in different soils. Cultivars reach full fruit set 6 to 7 years after grafting and