Nashi pear or Common pear: how to tell them apart?
Nashi pear and Common pear look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Nashi pear
Pyrus pyrifolia
Common pear
Pyrus communis
Nashi produces a fruit that is round like an apple and very crisp, whereas the pear of the European pear tree has the classic curved shape and melting flesh.
🍃 Leaves
Ovate, finely toothed, glossy, taking on attractive autumn tints
Ovate, finely toothed, long petiole, glossy
🌸 Flowers
White, grouped in corymbs, appearing early in spring
White, in corymbs, appearing with or just before the leaves
🍎 Fruits
Large round fruit, crisp and juicy, apple-like in shape but pear-like in flavour
Fleshy pear, with gritty flesh near the core, shape varying with the variety
🪵 Bark
Grey, cracking slightly with age
Grey, cracking into small rectangular plates with age
📏 Size
4 to 8 m tall
6 to 15 m tall
🗺️ Habitat
Planted in orchards, deep, well-drained soils
Orchards and gardens; cultivated throughout France
⚠️ Toxicity
Edible fruit; like other members of the rose family, the pips contain a small amount of amygdalin, harmless at normal doses
Fruit flesh edible; the pips contain small amounts of amygdalin, harmless in normal use
🔎 And from the Common pear side
The Nashi pear produces a round, very crisp fruit shaped like an apple, whereas the fruit of the European pear has the classic curved pear shape and soft, melting flesh.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.