European Pear

The European Pear Pyrus communis is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe and southwest Asia. The European Pear 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 are developed. Two other species of pear, the Nashi Pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, and the Chinese white pear bai li, Pyrus × bretschneideri, are more widely used in eastern Asia.

Origin

The cultivated European pear (Pyrus communis subsp. communis) is thought to be descended from two subspecies of wild pear, categorized as P. communis subsp. pyraster (syn. P. pyraster) and P. communis subsp. caucasica (syn. P. caucasica), which are interfertile with the domesticated species. Archeological evidence shows that pears "were collected from the wild long before their introduction into cultivation," according to Zohary and Hopf.[1] 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."[2] Theophrastus, Cato the Elder and Pliny the Elder all present information about the cultivation and grafting of pears.

Cultivation

European pear trees are not quite as hardy as apples, but nearly so. They do however require some winter chilling to produce fruit. For a list of Lepidoptera whose caterpillars feed on pear tree leaves, see List of Lepidoptera that feed on pear trees.

For best and most consistent quality, European 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. They 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.

Fermented pear juice is called perry. In Britain the place name Perry can indicate the historical presence of pear trees.

There are relatively few cultivars of European or Asian pear grown worldwide. Only about 20-25 European and 10-20 Asian cultivars represent virtually all the pears of commerce. Almost all European cultivars were chance seedlings or selections originating in western Europe, mostly France. All of the Asian cultivars originated in Japan and China. 'Bartlett' is the most common pear cultivar in the world, and represents about 75% of US pear production.

Major cultivars

In the United States, 95% of reported pear production in 2004 came from four cultivars:[3]

* 50% Williams' Bon Chrétien (England, ca. 1770; a summer pear commonly called Bartlett in the U.S. and Canada, and Williams elsewhere)
* 34% Beurre d'Anjou (France, a winter pear commonly called just d'Anjou)
* 10% Beurre Bosc (Also known as Kaiser Alexander, a winter pear commonly called just Bosc or Kaiser)
* 1% Doyenné du Comice (France, 1849; commonly called Comice pears)