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.
Juniperus communis, the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere.
Pyrus calleryana, also known as the Callery pear or Bradford pear, is a species of pear tree native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae. It is most commonly known for its cultivar 'Bradford' and its offensive odor, widely planted throughout the United States and increasingly regarded as an invasive species.
Populus nigra, the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section Aigeiros of the genus Populus, native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.
Prunus cerasifera is a species of plum known by the common names cherry plum and myrobalan plum. It is native to Southeast Europe and Western Asia, and is naturalised in the British Isles and scattered locations in North America. Also naturalized in parts of SE Australia where it is considered to be a mildly invasive weed of bushland near urban centers. P. cerasifera is believed to one of the parents of the cultivated plum, Prunus domestica perhaps crossing with the sloe, Prunus spinosa, or perhaps the sole parent. This would make it a parent of most of the commercial varieties of plum in the UK and mainland Europe - Victoria, greengages, bullace etc.
Pyrus communis, the common pear, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe, and western Asia.
Malus sylvestris, the European crab apple, also known as the European wild apple or simply the crab apple, is a species of the genus Malus, native to Europe and western Asia. Its scientific name means "forest apple".
Pyrus nivalis, commonly known as yellow pear or snow pear, is a species of tree in the family Rosaceae that grows naturally from South-East Europe to Western Asia. Like most pears, its fruit can be eaten raw or cooked; it has a mild sour taste. The fruit is picked in October, when it is still dry and unripe; it will not become soft and sweet until the end of November or December, hence the name snow pear.
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.
Pyrus × sinkangensis, the Xinjiang pear, has been suspected to be of complex hybrid origin involving P. communis and Chinese white pears based on their morphological characteristics.
Prunus avium, commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry or gean is a species of cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, Anatolia, Maghreb, and Western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia, north to the Trondheimsfjord region in Norway and east to the Caucasus and northern Iran, with a small isolated population in the western Himalaya. The species is widely cultivated in other regions and has become naturalized in North America, New Zealand and Australia.
Pyrus bourgaeana, the Iberian pear, is a close relative of Pyrus communis L. The latter was domesticated about 2500 years ago. This small tree is widely distributed across the southern Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco, where it coexists with four Pyrus species: P. communis L., P. cordata Dew., P. spinosa Forssk, and P. nivalis Jacq. Characteristics to discriminate these species are the width of fruit peduncle, petal size, leaf width and petiole length served to the taxa.
Pyrus cordata, the Heart-leaved pear or Plymouth pear, is a rare wild species of pear belonging to the family Rosaceae. It gets its name in Spanish, Portuguese and French from the shape of its leaves. In the UK, it is known as Plymouth Pear after the city of Plymouth in Devon, where it was originally found in 1870 The Plymouth pear was one of the British trees to be funded under English Natures Species Recovery Programme.
Pyrus syriaca is a deciduous tree in the Rosaceae family. It is referred to by the common name Syrian pear. It is the only pear species which grows in the wild in Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Israel and Palestine.
Pyrus spinosa, the almond-leaved pear, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to the northern Mediterranean region. It grows to a height of 3–10 m (10–33 ft). It has white flowers which bloom in April–May. The fruits are bitter and astringent. It hybridizes easily with Pyrus communis and Pyrus pyraster.
Pyrus elaeagrifolia, the oleaster-leaved pear, is a species of wild pear plant in the genus Pyrus (Rosaceae), the specific name referring to the similarity of its foliage to that of Elaeagnus angustifolia - the so-called 'wild olive' or oleaster.
Torminalis is a genus of plants in the rose family Rosaceae. The genus Torminalis was formerly included within the genus Sorbus, as the section Torminaria, but the simple-leafed species traditionally classified in Sorbus are now considered to form a separate monophyletic group. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, Torminalis glaberrima, commonly known as wild service tree, chequers, and checker tree. This tree is native to Europe, parts of northern Africa and western Asia.
Pyrus austriaca, the Austrian pear, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Pyrus found in central and southern Europe, and Turkey. They are very large trees for pears, reaching 20 m. It is thought to be a hybrid species of Pyrus pyraster and Pyrus nivalis.
Pyrus korshinskyi, also known as the Kazak pear or Bukharan pear, is a wild species of pear tree native to Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The Kazak pear is in the genus Pyrus (Rosaceae). The IUCN categorises the pear as critically endangered, with it surviving in remote areas with threats including over grazing, harvesting, and use for rootstock. Genetically the pear has potential use for reducing the impact of disease on domesticated pears.
Malus crescimannoi, also known as the Raimondo apple, is a species of apple in the rose family Rosaceae. Native just to the island of Sicily it was formally described only in 2008, making it one of the most recently described species of tree in Europe. At present unknown is whether the species is a remnant of a preglacial diversity of apples in Europe, or a distinctive race of European wild apple.
