Pear

The word pear comes from Old English pere or peru, from Vulgar Latin pera, from Latin pirum, probably akin to Greek άπιον apion with the same meaning; ultimately from an unknown source, possibly Semitic, or a lost Mediterranean language.^[1] The adjective pyriform or piriform means pear-shaped.^[2] The classical Latin word for a pear tree is pirus;^[3] pyrus is an alternate form of this word sometimes used in medieval Latin.^[4]

The pear is native to coastal, temperate, and mountainous region, It is found from Western Europe and North Africa east across Asia.^[5][6] They are medium-sized trees, reaching up to 20 m tall, often with a tall, narrow crown; a few pear species are shrubby.^[7][8]

The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, 2–12 cm (1–4+1⁄2 in) long, glossy green on some species, densely silvery-hairy in some others; leaf shape varies from broad oval to narrow lanceolate.^[8] Most pears are deciduous, but one or two species in Southeast Asia are evergreen.^[8][9] Some pears are cold-hardy, withstanding temperatures as low as −25 to −40 °C (−13 to −40 °F) in winter, but many grown for agriculture are vulnerable to cold damage.^[5][10] Evergreen species only tolerate temperatures down to about −12 °C (10 °F).^[11]

The flowers are white, rarely tinted yellow or pink, 2–4 centimetres (1–1+1⁄2 in) diameter, and have five petals, five sepals, and numerous stamens.^[8][12] Like that of the related apple, the pear fruit is a pome, in most wild species 1–4 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) diameter, but in some cultivated forms up to 18 cm (7 in) long and 9 cm (3+1⁄2 in) broad.^[8] 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.^[10]

The fruit is a pseudofruit composed of the greatly swollen receptacle or upper end of the flower stalk (the so-called calyx tube.^[8] Enclosed within its cellular flesh is the true fruit: 2–5 'cartilaginous' carpels,^[5][13] known colloquially as the "core".^[8] Pears and apples cannot always be distinguished by the form of the fruit;^[14] some pears look very much like some apples, e.g. the nashi pear.^[7][15]

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  Tree
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  Pear morphology
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  Pear blossoms
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  A bee pollinating a pear blossom

Pear cultivation in 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.^[16] Pears were cultivated in China as early as 2000 BC.^[17] An article on pear tree cultivation in Spain is included in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture.^[18]

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.^[19]

The pear was cultivated by the Romans, who ate the fruits raw or cooked, just like apples.^[20] They introduced the fruit to Britain.^[21] Pliny's Natural History recommended stewing the fruit with honey and noted three dozen varieties. The Roman cookbook De re coquinaria has a recipe for a spiced, stewed-pear patina, or soufflé.^[22]

Pyrus nivalis, which has white down on the undersurface of the leaves, is chiefly used in Europe in the manufacture of perry, a drink similar to cider.^[19][23][24] Other small-fruited pears, distinguished by their early ripening and globose fruit, may be referred to as P. cordata, a species found wild in southwestern Europe.^[25][26][27]

The genus is thought to have originated in present-day Western China^[28] 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.^[9] The enormous number of varieties of the cultivated European pear (Pyrus communis subsp. communis), are likely 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.^[5][8] 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.^[29] 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.^[30]

Asian species with medium to large edible fruit include P. pyrifolia, P. ussuriensis, P. × bretschneideri, and P. × sinkiangensis.^[8] Small-fruited species, such as Pyrus calleryana, may be used as rootstocks for the cultivated forms.^[5][31]

The genus Pyrus was described by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum in 1753.^[32][33] The genus can be divided into two subgenera—Pyrus and Pashia. Subgenus Pyrus, the Occidental clade, is distributed mainly in the western portion of Eurasia and North Africa, while subgenus Pashia, the Oriental clade, is native to East Asia. The two subgenera come in contact in Xinjiang, China, and in fact P. sinkiangensis appears to have arisen from a hybridisation event between P. communis and either P. pyrifolia or P. bretschneideri, i.e. a hybridisation between a member of the Occidental clade and a member of the Oriental clade.^[34] Pears are cultivated across their native range, and are introduced for cultivation in North America, the British Isles, Scandinavia, Southern Africa, and Australia.^[35] As of December 2024, Plants of the World Online accepts the following 74 species.^[35]

According to Pear Bureau Northwest, about 3,000 known varieties of pears are grown worldwide.^[37][38] 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.^[39]

There are four species which are primarily grown for 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, the Chinese pear Pyrus ussuriensis, and the Nashi pear Pyrus pyrifolia (also known as Asian pear or apple pear), which are grown mainly in eastern Asia.^[5] There are thousands of cultivars of these three species.^[37] 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.^[5][8]

Other species are used as rootstocks for European and Asian pears and as ornamental trees.^[5][31] Pear wood is close-grained and has been used as a specialized timber for fine furniture and making the blocks for woodcuts.^[40][41] The Manchurian or Ussurian Pear, Pyrus ussuriensis (which produces unpalatable fruit primarily used for canning) has been crossed with Pyrus communis to breed hardier pear cultivars.^[42] The Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford') is widespread as an ornamental tree in North America, where it has become invasive in regions.^[43][44][45] It is also used as a blight-resistant rootstock for Pyrus communis fruit orchards.^[42][43] The Willow-leaved pear (Pyrus salicifolia) is grown for its silvery leaves, flowers, and its "weeping" form.^[5][46]

Summer and autumn cultivars of Pyrus communis, being climacteric fruits, are harvested before they are fully ripe, while they are still green, but snap off when lifted.^[8][47] Certain other pears, including Pyrus pyrifolia and P. × bretschneideri, have both climacteric and non-climacteric varieties.^[5][48][49]

Diseases and pests

Main articles: List of pear diseases and Lepidoptera

Pear production
2024, millions of tonnes

China	21.0
Argentina	0.67
Turkey	0.63
South Africa	0.47
United States	0.46
Italy	0.44
World	27.6
Source: FAOSTAT[59]

In 2024, world production of pears was 27.6 million tonnes, led by China with 76% of the total (table).^[59] About 48% of the Southern Hemisphere's pears are produced in the Patagonian valley of Río Negro in Argentina.^[60]

Raw pear is 84% water, 15% carbohydrates and contains negligible protein and fat (table). In a 100 g (3+1⁄2 oz) reference amount, raw pear supplies 239 kilojoules (57 kilocalories) of food energy, a moderate amount of dietary fiber, and no micronutrients in significant amounts (table).

A 2019 review found preliminary evidence for the potential of pear consumption to favorably affect cardiovascular health.^[71]

Pears grow in the sublime orchard of Alcinous, in the Odyssey vii: "Therein grow trees, tall and luxuriant, pears and pomegranates and apple-trees with their bright fruit, and sweet figs, and luxuriant olives. Of these the fruit perishes not nor fails in winter or in summer, but lasts throughout the year."^[72]

The pear tree was an object of veneration in the tree worship of the Nakh peoples of the North Caucasus. Pear and walnut trees were held to be the sacred abodes of beneficent spirits in pre-Islamic Chechen religion and it was forbidden to fell them.^[73]

"A Partridge in a Pear Tree" is the first gift in the cumulative song "The Twelve Days of Christmas".^[74]

In the film "The Princess Diaries", the fictional country of Genovia is famous for its pears.^[75]

• List of culinary fruits