Pear tree

Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees.

The tree is medium-sized and native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Pear wood is one of the preferred materials in the manufacture of high-quality woodwind instruments and furniture.

About 3,000 known varieties of pears are grown worldwide, which vary in both shape and taste. The fruit is consumed fresh, canned, as juice, or dried.

Etymology

The word ''pear'' is probably from Germanic ''pera'' as a loanword of Vulgar Latin ''pira'', the plural of ''pirum'', akin to Greek ''apios'' (from Mycenaean ''ápisos''), of Semitic origin (''pirâ''), meaning "fruit". The adjective '' pyriform'' or ''piriform'' means pear-shaped. The classical Latin word for a pear tree is ''pirus''; ''pyrus'' is an alternate form of this word sometimes used in medieval Latin.

Description

The pear is native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of the Old World, from Western Europe and North Africa east across Asia. It is a medium-sized tree, reaching tall, often with a tall, narrow crown; a few species are shrubby.

The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, long, glossy green on some species, densely silvery-hairy in some others; leaf shape varies from broad oval to narrow lanceolate. Most pears are deciduous, but one or two species in Southeast Asia are evergreen. Most are cold-hardy, withstanding temperatures as low as in winter, except for the evergreen species, which only tolerate temperatures down to about .

The flowers are white, rarely tinted yellow or pink, diameter, and have five petals.Pear Fruit Facts Page Information
bouquetoffruits.com Like that of the related apple, the pear fruit is a pome, in most wild species diameter, but in some cultivated forms up to long and broad; the shape varies in most species from oblate or globose, to the classic pyriform " pear shape" of the European pear with an elongated basal portion and a bulbous end.

The fruit is composed of the receptacle or upper end of the flower stalk (the so-called calyx tube) greatly dilated. Enclosed within its cellular flesh is the true fruit: five 'cartilaginous' carpels, known colloquially as the "core". From the upper rim of the receptacle are given off the five sepals, the five petals, and the very numerous stamens.

Pears and apples cannot always be distinguished by the form of the fruit; some pears look very much like some apples, e.g. the nashi pear. One major difference is that the flesh of pear fruit contains stone cells.

History

Pear cultivation in cool, temperate climates extends to the remotest antiquity, and evidence exists of its use as a food since prehistoric times. Many traces have been found in prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich. Pears were cultivated in China as early as 2000 BC. An article on Pear tree cultivation in Spain is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, ''Book on Agriculture''.

The word ''pear'', or its equivalent, occurs in all the Celtic languages, while in Slavic and other dialects, differing appellations, still referring to the same thing, are found—a diversity and multiplicity of nomenclature, which led Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle to infer a very ancient cultivation of the tree from the shores of the Caspian to those of the Atlantic.

The pear was also cultivated by the Romans, who ate the fruits raw or cooked, just like apples. Pliny's ''Natural History'' recommended stewing them with honey and noted three dozen varieties. The Roman cookbook ''De re coquinaria'' has a recipe for a spiced, stewed-pear ''patina'', or soufflé. Romans also introduced the fruit to Britain.

A certain race of pears, with white down on the undersurface of their leaves, is supposed to have originated from ''P. nivalis'', and their fruit is chiefly used in France in the manufacture of perry (see also cider). Other small-fruited pears, distinguished by their early ripening and apple-like fruit, may be referred to as ''P. cordata'', a species found wild in western France and southwestern England.

The genus is thought to have originated in present-day Western China in the foothills of the Tian Shan, a mountain range of Central Asia, and to have spread to the north and south along mountain chains, evolving into a diverse group of over 20 widely recognized primary species. The enormous number of varieties of the cultivated European pear (''Pyrus communis'' subsp. ''communis''), are without doubt derived from one or two wild subspecies (''P. c.'' subsp. ''pyraster'' and ''P. c.'' subsp. ''caucasica''), widely distributed throughout Europe, and sometimes forming part of the natural vegetation of the forests. Court accounts of Henry III of England record pears shipped from La Rochelle-Normande and presented to the king by the sheriffs of the City of London. The French names of pears grown in English medieval gardens suggest that their reputation, at the least, was French; a favoured variety in the accounts was named for Saint Rieul of Senlis, Bishop of Senlis in northern France.

Asian species with medium to large edible fruit include ''P. pyrifolia'', ''P. ussuriensis'', ''P. × bretschneideri'', ''P. × sinkiangensis'', and ''P. pashia''. Other small-fruited species are frequently used as rootstocks for the cultivated forms.

Major recognized species

Cultivation

According to Pear Bureau Northwest, about 3000 known varieties of pears are grown worldwide.
The pear is normally propagated by grafting a selected variety onto a rootstock, which may be of a pear or quince variety. Quince rootstocks produce smaller trees, which is often desirable in commercial orchards or domestic gardens. For new varieties the flowers can be cross-bred to preserve or combine desirable traits. The fruit of the pear is produced on spurs, which appear on shoots more than one year old.

Three species account for the vast majority of edible fruit production, the European pear ''Pyrus communis'' subsp. ''communis'' cultivated mainly in Europe and North America, the Chinese white pear (''bai li'') '' Pyrus × bretschneideri'', and the Nashi pear ''Pyrus pyrifolia'' (also known as Asian pear or apple pear), both grown mainly in eastern Asia. There are thousands of cultivars of these three species. A species grown in western China, ''P. sinkiangensis'', and ''P. pashia'', grown in southern China and south Asia, are also produced to a lesser degree.

Other species are used as rootstocks for European and Asian pears and as ornamental trees. Pear wood is close-grained and at least in the past was used as a specialized timber for fine furniture and making the blocks for woodcuts. The Manchurian or Ussurian Pear, ''Pyrus ussuriensis'' (which produces unpalatable fruit) has been crossed with ''Pyrus communis'' to breed hardier pear cultivars. The Bradford pear (''Pyrus calleryana'' 'Bradford') in particular has become widespread in North America, and is used only as an ornamental tree, as well as a blight-resistant rootstock for ''Pyrus communis'' fruit orchards. The Willow-leaved pear ('' Pyrus salicifolia'') is grown for its attractive, slender, densely silvery-hairy leaves.

Cultivars

The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:

* 'Beth'
* ’Beurré Hardy’
* ’Beurré Superfin’
* 'Concorde'
* 'Conference'
* ’Doyenné du Comice

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