How do you recognise Nashi pear (Pyrus pyrifolia)?

Leaf

Alpsdake · CC0

Nashi pear

Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm.f.) Nakai

Also known as: Asian pear, Japanese pear, Sand pear

Family: Rosaceae

4 to 8 m tall

Planted in orchards, deep, well-drained soils

Flowering: April, before or with the leaves

Full sun

Fairly hardy, to about -15°C, sensitive to late frosts on the flowering

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Nashi owes its crisp texture, unusual in a pome fruit, to small stony cells scattered through its flesh — the same cells that give the European pear its gritty texture, but in far greater numbers. 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

🌸 Flowers

White, grouped in corymbs, appearing early in spring

🍎 Fruits

Large round fruit, crisp and juicy, apple-like in shape but pear-like in flavour

🪵 Bark

Grey, cracking slightly with age

🗺️ Distribution

Native to East Asia; grown in orchards in France for a few decades

🐝 Value for pollinators

Spring flowering rich in nectar, appreciated by bees; often needs a compatible pollinator to fruit well

✂️ Horticultural uses

Orchard fruit tree, valued for its unusual crisp fruit and decorative spring blossom

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Edible fruit; like other members of the rose family, the pips contain a small amount of amygdalin, harmless at normal doses

⚠️ Look-alike species

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.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.