Chaenomeles japonica is a species of Japanese quince. It is a thorny deciduous shrub that is commonly cultivated. It is shorter than another commonly cultivated species C. speciosa, growing to only about 1 m in height. The fruit is called Kusa-boke (草木瓜 Kusa-boke) in Japanese. It is best known for its colorful spring flowers of red, white, pink or multi. It produces apple-shaped fruit that are a golden-yellow color containing red-brown seeds. The fruit is edible, but hard and astringent-tasting, unless bletted. The fruit is occasionally used in jam, jelly and pie making as a substitute for its cousin, the true quince, Cydonia oblonga. C. japonica is also popularly grown in bonsai.