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The plant

Pyrus communis, the common pear, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe and western Asia. It belongs to the family Rosaceae. It is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions.

The flower

Pear flowers are white, rarely tinted yellow or pink, and measure 2-4 centimetres across. Each has five petals, five sepals and numerous stamens.

The tree

Pear trees are mostly medium to small-sized, though some grow as shrubs. The leaves are alternately arranged and simple, 2-12 cm long, and most pears are deciduous.

Origin and cultivation

The genus Pyrus is thought to have originated in Central Asia, in the foothills of the Tian Shan, and to have spread north and south along mountain chains into more than 20 widely recognized primary species. Pears have two domestication centres, one in China and the other in Asia Minor near the Caucasus Mountains. The Romans cultivated the pear and introduced the fruit to Britain.

About 3,000 varieties of pears are grown worldwide. The pear is normally propagated by grafting a selected variety onto a rootstock of pear or quince, and quince rootstocks produce smaller trees. In 2024 world production of pears was 27.6 million tonnes, with China producing 76% of the total.

Fruit aroma

P. communis pears develop a pronounced aroma after ripening and softening.

Callery pear

The blossoms of the Callery pear, Pyrus calleryana, produce a strong, rancid odor. The white spring blooms of the Callery pear contain butyric acid, a compound that smells "fishy" or like "regurgitation". The Bradford cultivar of the Callery pear has an offensive odor that some have described as akin to "rotting fish". The smell attracts flies, which are the primary pollinators rather than bees.

The white, five-petaled flowers of the Callery pear are about 2 to 2.5 cm in diameter and are produced abundantly in early spring, before the leaves expand fully. Native to Asia, the Callery pear was introduced to the United States in the early 1900s as rootstock for domesticated pears, and since the 1960s it has been widely planted as a street and ornamental tree.