Pyrus communis

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Pyrus communis
Pears.jpg
Common pear branch with fruit
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Pyrus
Species:
P. communis
Binomial name
Pyrus communis
L.
Synonyms [2]
List
    • Crataegus excelsaSalisb.
    • Malus communis(L.) Poir.
    • Pyrenia pyrusClairv.
    • Pyrus achrasGaertn.
    • Pyrus ambrosiacaPoit. & Turpin
    • Pyrus amphigeneaDomin ex Dostalek
    • Pyrus anglicaDruce
    • Pyrus anglicaPoit. & Turpin
    • Pyrus balansaeDecne.
    • Pyrus caucasicaFed.
    • Pyrus caucasica var. schuntukensisTuz
    • Pyrus communis subsp. australeuropaeaTuz
    • Pyrus communis subsp. medioasiaticaTuz
    • Pyrus communis subsp. orientaleuropaeaTuz
    • Pyrus communis subsp. transcaucasicaTuz
    • Pyrus communis var. pompejanaL.
    • Pyrus communis var. pyrasterL.
    • Pyrus communis var. sativaDC.
    • Pyrus communis var. sylvestrisDC.
    • Pyrus communis var. volemaL.
    • Pyrus domestica(Borkh.) Medik.
    • Pyrus karpatianaTerpó
    • Pyrus magyaricaTerpó
    • Pyrus moschataPoit. & Turpin
    • Pyrus papulataPoit. & Turpin
    • Pyrus pyraster(L.) Burgsd.
    • Pyrus pyraster subsp. achras(Gaertn.) Stohr
    • Pyrus pyraster var. achras(Gaertn.) Cinovskis
    • Pyrus pyraster var. relictaDostálek
    • Pyrus pyraster var. rossica(A.D.Danilov) Tuz
    • Pyrus pyraster var. tomentosa(W.D.J.Koch) Dostálek
    • Pyrus rossicaA.D.Danilov
    • Pyrus salviatiPoit. & Turpin
    • Sorbus pyrusCrantz

Pyrus communis, the common pear, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe, and western Asia. [3]

Contents

It is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars grown in Europe, North America, and Australia have been developed. Two other species of pear, the Nashi pear ( Pyrus pyrifolia ) and the hybrid Chinese white or ya pear ( Pyrus × bretschneideri , Chinese :白梨; pinyin :báilí) are more widely grown in East Asia.

Subtaxa

The following subspecies are currently accepted: [2]

Origin

The cultivated Common pear (P. communis subsp. communis) is thought to be descended from two subspecies of wild pears, categorized as P. communis subsp. pyraster (syn. P. pyraster) and P. communis subsp. caucasica (syn. P. caucasica), which are interfertile with domesticated pears. Archeological evidence shows these pears "were collected from the wild long before their introduction into cultivation", according to Zohary and Hopf. [4] Although they point to finds of pears in sites in Neolithic and Bronze Age European sites, "reliable information on pear cultivation first appears in the works of the Greek and the Roman writers." [5] Theophrastus, Cato the Elder, and Pliny the Elder all present information about the cultivation and grafting of pears.[ citation needed ]

Cultivation

Pear tree in flower 2015 Kwiatostan gruszy pospolitej.jpg
Pear tree in flower
Tiny unripe pears Kruska Rana Moretini - mali plodovi.JPG
Tiny unripe pears

Common pear trees are not quite as hardy as apples, but nearly so. However, they do require some winter chilling to produce fruit. A number of Lepidoptera caterpillars feed on pear tree leaves.[ citation needed ]

For best and most consistent quality, common pears are picked when the fruit matures, but before they are ripe. Fruit allowed to ripen on the tree often drops before it can be picked, and in any event will be hard to pick without bruising. Pears store (and ship) well in their mature but unripe state if kept cold, and can be ripened later, a process called bletting. Some varieties, such as Beurre d'Anjou, ripen only with exposure to cold.[ citation needed ]

Fermented pear juice is called perry. In Britain, the place name "Perry" can indicate the historical presence of pear trees.[ citation needed ]

Relatively few cultivars of European or Asian pears are widely grown worldwide. Only about 20–25 European and 10–20 Asian cultivars represent virtually all the pears of commerce.[ citation needed ] Almost all European cultivars were chance seedlings or selections originating in western Europe, mostly France. The Asian cultivars all originated in Japan and China. 'Bartlett' (Williams) is the most common pear cultivar in the world, representing about 75% of US pear production.[ citation needed ]

Major cultivars

Selected common pear cultivars

Those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pear</span> Edible fruits from the genus Pyrus

Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. 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.

<i>Penstemon</i> Genus of plants

Penstemon, the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native to North America from northern Canada to Central America. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as being the scientific name, penstemon is also widely used as a common name for all Penstemon species alongside beardtongues.

<i>Fuchsia</i> Genus of plants

Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees.

<i>Alstroemeria</i> Genus of South American flowering plants

Alstroemeria, commonly called the Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alstroemeriaceae. They are all native to South America, although some have become naturalized in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira and the Canary Islands. Almost all of the species are restricted to one of two distinct centers of diversity: one in central Chile, the other in eastern Brazil. Species of Alstroemeria from Chile are winter-growing plants, while those of Brazil are summer growing. All are long-lived perennials except A. graminea, a diminutive annual from the Atacama Desert of Chile.

<i>Pyrus <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> bretschneideri</i> Species of tree

Pyrus × bretschneideri, the ya pear or pearple or Chinese white pear, is an interspecific hybrid species of pear native to North China, where it is widely grown for its edible fruit.

<i>Dasiphora fruticosa</i> Species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae

Dasiphora fruticosa is a species of hardy deciduous flowering shrub in the family Rosaceae, native to the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere, often growing at high altitudes in mountains. Dasiphora fruticosa is still widely referenced in the horticultural literature under its synonym Potentilla fruticosa. Common names include shrubby cinquefoil, golden hardhack, bush cinquefoil, shrubby five-finger, widdy, kuril tea and tundra rose.

<i>Juniperus chinensis</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus chinensis, the Chinese juniper, is a species of plant in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to China, Myanmar, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East. Growing 1–20 metres tall, it is a very variable coniferous evergreen tree or shrub.

<i>Ilex aquifolium</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae

Ilex aquifolium, the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aquifoliaceae, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia. It is regarded as the type species of the genus Ilex, which by association is also called "holly". It is an evergreen tree or shrub found, for example, in shady areas of forests of oak and in beech hedges. In the British Isles it is one of very few native hardwood evergreen trees. It has a great capacity to adapt to different conditions and is a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests or clearcuts.

<i>Pyrus salicifolia</i> Species of pear tree

Pyrus salicifolia is a species of pear, native to the Middle East. It is widely grown as an ornamental tree, almost always as a pendulous cultivar, and is called by various common names, including willow-leaved pear, weeping pear, and similar. The tree is deciduous and of comparatively small stature, rarely reaching 10–12 meters in height. The crown is rounded. It has pendulous, silvery foliage, superficially similar to a weeping willow. The flowers are large and pure white highlighted with black-tipped stamens although the buds are tipped with red. The small green fruits are inedible, being hard and astringent.

<i>Dicentra formosa</i> Species of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Dicentra formosa is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae. With its fern-like foliage and inflorescence of drooping pink, purple, yellow or cream "hearts", this species is native to the United States' Pacific Northwest and West Coast of North America.

<i>Malva thuringiaca</i> Species of flowering plant

Malva thuringiaca, the garden tree-mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from southern Germany south to Italy, and east to southern Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams pear</span> Pear cultivar

The Williams' bon chrétien pear, commonly called the Williams pear, or the Bartlett pear in the United States and Canada, is a cultivar of the species Pyrus communis, commonly known as the European pear. The fruit has a bell shape, considered the traditional pear shape in the west, and its green skin turns yellow upon later ripening, although red-skinned derivative varieties exist. It is considered a summer pear, not as tolerant of cold as some varieties. It is often eaten raw, but holds its shape well when baked, and is a common choice for canned or other processed pear uses.

<i>Pyrus pyraster</i> Species of tree

Pyrus pyraster, also called European wild pear, is a species of pear of the family Rosaceae.

<i>Diascia</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Diascia is a genus of around 70 species of herbaceous annual and perennial flowering plants of the family Scrophulariaceae, native to southern Africa, including South Africa, Lesotho and neighbouring areas.

<i>Acer palmatum</i> Species of maple

Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: danpungnamu, 단풍나무, Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.

<i>Veronica austriaca</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae

Veronica austriaca, the broadleaf speedwell, large speedwell, Austrian speedwell, or saw-leaved speedwell, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to northern temperate Europe. Growing to 90 cm (35 in) tall by 60 cm (24 in) broad, it is a mound-forming herbaceous perennial, with deeply toothed leaves and erect spikes of bright blue flowers throughout summer.

<i>Phormium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae

Phormium is a genus of two plant species in the family Asphodelaceae. One species is endemic to New Zealand and the other is native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. The two species are widely known in New Zealand as flax or their Māori names wharariki and harakeke respectively, and elsewhere as New Zealand flax or flax lily, but they are not closely related to the Northern Hemisphere's flax, which is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and has been used by humans since 30,000 B.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winter Nelis pear</span> Edible fruit cultivar

The Winter Nelis pear, also known as Bonne De Malines, is a deciduous pear tree growing to 8 m depending on rootstock, and is sparse and spreading in form. It is not frost tender. Its flowers are self-sterile and a pollinator tree is required that flowers at a similar time. It is a late-season dessert pear picked in late autumn for use in early to mid-winter. The fruit are medium in size and have outstanding storage properties for a pear, easily keeping for a couple of months. Hoggs Fruit Manual (1880s) describes it as one of the richest flavoured pears, flesh being yellowish, fine-grained, buttery and melting, with a rich, sugary and vinous flavour and a fine aroma. The pear is suitable for both raw and cooked applications, alongside it's impressive storage capacities this makes it an ideal pear for the home gardener. The pear is named after the Flemish nobleman Jan-Karel de Nelis (1748–1834), who raised it from seed in the early 1800s. It was introduced to England in 1818 and to the United States in 1823

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doyenné du Comice</span> Pear cultivar

The Doyenné du Comice is a French pear variety first cultivated in the 19th century.

References

  1. Barstow, M. (2017). "Pyrus communis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T173010A61580281. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T173010A61580281.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Pyrus pseudopashia T.T.Yu". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  3. "Heritage Rare & Iconic Trees - Visit Kew Gardens". kew.org.
  4. Zohary, Daniel; Hopf, Maria; Weiss, Ehud (2012). Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The Origin and Spread of Domesticated Plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin (Fourth ed.). Oxford: University Press. p. 176.
  5. Zohary, Daniel; Hopf, Maria; Weiss, Ehud (2012). Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The Origin and Spread of Domesticated Plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin (Fourth ed.). Oxford: University Press. p. 177.
  6. "RHS Plant Selector - Pyrus communis 'Beth'". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  7. "Pero - in Italian" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22.
  8. "RHS Plant Selector - Pyrus communis 'Comice'". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  9. "RHS Plant Selector - Pyrus communis 'Conference'". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  10. "RHS Plant Selector - Pyrus communis 'Joséphine de Malines'". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  11. "RHS Plant Selector - Pyrus communis 'Louise Bonne of Jersey'". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  12. "RHS Plant Selector - Pyrus communis 'Onward'". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  13. U.S. Department of Agriculture. (September 2004.) "Pyrus Crop Germplasm Committee: Report and genetic vulnerability statement, September 2004" Archived 2008-10-10 at the Wayback Machine . (Website.) Germ Resources Information Network (GRIN), pages 5-7, 10. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
  14. Dris, Ramdane, and S. Mohan Jain (editors.) (2004.) "Production Practices and Quality Assessment of Food Crops: Volume 3, Quality Handling and Evaluation". Springer, page 274, ISBN   978-1-4020-1700-1. Retrieved on 2007-10-10
  15. "RHS Plant Selector - Pyrus communis 'Williams Bonne Chretienne'". Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.