Leaf
David Mercier, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Common pear
Pyrus communis L.
Also known as: Pear, European pear
Family: Rosaceae
6 to 15 m tall
Orchards and gardens; cultivated throughout France
Flowering: March – April
Full sun
Hardy to about -25°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Like the apple, the pear needs a different pollinating variety nearby in order to fruit well. The wild pear has much smaller, hard, astringent fruits, and often thorny twigs — the cultivated pear has none.
🍃 Leaves
Ovate, finely toothed, long petiole, glossy
🌸 Flowers
White, in corymbs, appearing with or just before the leaves
🍎 Fruits
Fleshy pear, with gritty flesh near the core, shape varying with the variety
🪵 Bark
Grey, cracking into small rectangular plates with age
🗺️ Distribution
Cultivated throughout France; derived from the domestication of the wild pear
🐝 Value for pollinators
Spring flowering rich in nectar, important for bees at the end of winter
✂️ Horticultural uses
Orchard or espalier fruit tree; many grafted varieties
⚠️ Possible toxicity
Fruit flesh edible; the pips contain small amounts of amygdalin, harmless in normal use
⚠️ Look-alike species
Common pear
Pyrus communis
Wild pear
Pyrus pyraster
The wild pear has much smaller, hard, astringent fruits, and often thorny twigs — the cultivated pear has none.
Common pear
Pyrus communis
Nashi pear
Pyrus pyrifolia
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.
🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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