Pear
Pyrus communis

Family: Rosaceae

What it is like

A medium to large tree. It grows to 20 m tall. It often has suckers around the base. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves have stalks. The leaves are 5-14 cm long by 4-9 cm wide. They are oval to sword shaped. They taper to the tip. They have fine teeth around the edge. They are glossy and dark green above. The flowers are white. They occur in short shoots at the ends of branches. The fruit is pear shaped. It is rough with close, raised specks. They are yellowish green when ripe. The pulp is gritty. The thorns have been bread out of cultivated pears. There are many named varieties.

Where it is found

A temperate plant. They grow best in areas with cool to cold winters, mild summers and light spring rainfall. They can grow on a range of soils but do nest of deep, fertile, well-drained clay loams. Low chilling varieties (150 hours) are grown in subtropical climates. Most varieties require a chilling of about 1200 hours below 7°C. Most pears do best when temperatures are 15-21°C at fruiting time. It suits hardiness zones 2-9. Arboretum Tasmania.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Balkans, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Caucasus, Central America, Central Asia, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech, Denmark, East Africa, Ecuador, Estonia, Eurasia, Europe, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Moldova, Myanmar, Nepal, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scandinavia, SE Asia, Serbia, Sikkim, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Indies, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Fruit are eaten raw or cooked. They can be baked or cooked in desserts. They are used for sweet pickles. They are also used for jam. They are also used for making the drink 'perry'.

It is a cultivated food plant.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed or by grafting. Flavour develops better if mature fruit are allowed to ripen off the tree. Mostly two compatible varieties need to be planted together for pollination. Most pears are self-sterile.

Seedling trees can take 20-80 years to commence bearing. Grafted trees take 6-8 years to bear. Trees live for about 45 years.

Its other names

Local names

Bagugosha, Birne, Herim, Metspirnipuu, Nashi, Nashpati, Naspati, Pera blanca, Pera caravella, Pera-europeia, Pera-manteigosa, Peral, Pir eropa, Poire, Querc, Sekok, Soh-phoh

Synonyms

Pyrus asiae-mediae Popov; Pyrus balansae Decne.; Pyrus bourgaeana Decne.; Pyrus domestica Medik.; Pyrus elata Rubtzov; Pyrus medvedevii Rubtzov;