Why is the pear a mystery?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

June 6, 2002

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Olympic Giant Asian Pear, Bartlett Pear, Ambrosia Pear, Honeysweet Pear—>Click here.

The pear (Pyrus communis Linnaeus) is a common fruit. Humans have grown pears for so long that the origins were lost. Pears were cultivated by the ancient Greeks; the Odyssey (Homer, 800 BCE, trans. Samuel Butler) tells of Ulysses returning from the Trojan War and seeing his father, Laertes, "so worn, so old and full of sorrow, he stood still under a tall pear tree
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Olympic Giant Asian Pear Tree
Huge Fruits, Great Quality! - A no-spray pear! Sweet and crisp, Olympic Giant pears are extra large--often weighing a pound or more! Extra juicy, too. Hold their flavor for up to 6 months in storage. Super hardy trees begin to bear in their third year. Ripen mid to late Oct.

Pears bear fragrant spring blossoms and set fruit on long-lived spurs, like apples. Zone 5 to 8

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and began to weep."

In 1699, Bartolomeo Bimbi painted 115 varieties of pears for the botanical art commissioned by Cosimo III, the 6th Grand Duke of Medici. In the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, amateur horticulturalists had bred 1,100 pear varieties in Belgium alone.

But for all their commonness, pears are something of a mystery. There are no wild Pyrus communis.

In the 1920s and 30s, Nikolai I. Vavilov, a Russian botanist, researched the sources of our modern foods. Vavilov discovered the greatest diversity of pears in Middle Asia—northeastern India, Afghanistan, Iran, and the mountains of Turkmenistan—their probable ancestral home.

The pear is believed a hybrid between Pyrus caucasia and Pyrus nivalis. This hybrid 'appeared' about the time Stone Age peoples were settling into villages.

For all the centuries of domestication, pears have retained an interesting quirk (and a good reason for people to tend them). They do not ripen well on the tree. Pears taste best picked when mature, then allowed to ripen.

Institut für Pharmazie - Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald has a beautiful photograph of pear blossoms. To view, click on the link:

http://www.pharmakobotanik.de/systematik/7_bilder/liebermn/Lb-00173.jpg

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Bosc Pear Tree

Henry Fields Seed and Nursery®

The premium quality pear! – Sweet, juicy white flesh. Keeps up to 6 months in refrigerator. Bosc blooms late to avoid frosts. Harvest in late Sept.

Pears are one of the easiest fruits to grow! Very few pests bother them. Except for honeysweet and Seckel, all varieties need two kinds for cross-pollination to ensure better yields. Space standard trees 20 ft. apart, dwarfs 10-15 ft. apart. Zone 5 to 8 Click here - $20 off at Henry Fields Seed and Nursery! Click here to view All Fruit Trees!

Seckel Pear Tree

Henry Fields Seed and Nursery®

The Perfect Dessert Pear - Record yields of slightly smaller, extra-sweet fruit. The favorite of home canners. blushed red when ripe. Ripens Sept.

Pears are one of the easiest fruits to grow! Very few pests bother them. Except for honeysweet and Seckel, all varieties need two kinds for cross-pollination to ensure better yields. Space standard trees 20 ft. apart, dwarfs 10-15 ft. apart. Zone 4 to 8 Click here - $20 off at Henry Fields Seed and Nursery! Click here to view All Fruit Trees!

Olympic Giant Asian Pear Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Huge Fruits, Great Quality! - A no-spray pear! Sweet and crisp, Olympic Giant pears are extra large--often weighing a pound or more! Extra juicy, too. Hold their flavor for up to 6 months in storage.

Super hardy trees begin to bear in their third year. Ripen mid to late Oct.

Pears bear fragrant spring blossoms and set fruit on long-lived spurs, like apples.

Zones: 5 - 8 (-10° F.)

This Item Ships In The Spring Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Comments: Heavy annual thinning of fruit is required to attain decent fruit quality. Fruit has long storage; 6 months in common refrigeration. Tree has excellent resistance to disease and many insects.

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Bartlett Pear Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Best-Known Name in Pears - Midseason crop of big golden fruits, a favorite for eating fresh and equally good for canning. Although now surpassed in overall quality by Ambrosia, Honeysweet and Green Jade, many people still prefer Bartlett because they grew up with it and know what to expect.Creamy white flesh. Harvest in August.

Pears bear fragrant spring blossoms and set fruit on long-lived spurs, like apples.

Zones: 4 - 8 (-20° F.)

This Item Ships In The Spring Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Comments: Rootstock: Gurney's Pyrus ussuriensis, Field's Pyrus-communis. Pleasant tart flavor. Ripen off of the tree for a few weeks to develop musky flavor. Keeps for three months. Vigorous, highly productive, long-lived. Partly self-fruitful but benefits from cross-pollination.

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Ambrosia Pear Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Big Fruits with Spectacular Flavor!

Gurney's Choice PPAF. Exquisitely rich and juicy with a smooth texture- you’ll delight in Ambrosia’s unparalleled flavor! This very high-quality pear bears annually and at a young age (often in its third year) which high tolerance to fire blight. Huge, golden-brown fruit, often blushed with soft pink, is ready for harvest in mid to late August. Zones: 5 - 8 (-20° F.)

Pears bear fragrant spring blossoms and set fruit on long-lived spurs, like apples.

This Item Ships In The Spring Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Comments: Extremely high quality pear reliably produces annual yields. Huge smooth-textured golden fruit (non-gritty), often blushed with soft pink, is exquisitely rich and juicy. Ready for harvest in mid to late August. High quality pear bears at young age. High tolerance to fire blight

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Honeysweet Pear Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Luscious Flavor, Self-Pollinating - Super-sweet, "sugar-type" pear with a rich, spicy flavor and exceptional quality.

One of the few that is self-pollinating-does not need another variety for good fruiting. Keeps well in storage, ripens late August.

Pears bear fragrant spring blossoms and set fruit on long-lived spurs, like apples.

Zones: 5 - 8 (-10° F.)

This Item Ships In The Spring Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Comments: Introduced in 1977 from Puurdue, this is a very high quality "Seckel or sugar pear". No fruit thinning required and it does not have premature fruit drop. Good storage ability.

Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!