Leaf
Andrine Faure, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Wild pear
Pyrus pyraster (L.) Burgsd.
Also known as: European wild pear
Family: Rosaceae
8 to 15 m tall
Hedgerows, woodland edges, open woods
Flowering: April
Full sun
Part shade
Hardy to -23°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Twigs often ending in a thorn, unlike the cultivated pear. The wild pear has much smaller, hard, astringent fruits, and often thorny twigs — the cultivated pear has none.
🍃 Leaves
Round to ovate, finely toothed, with long petioles
🌸 Flowers
White, in small clusters, before the leaves
🍎 Fruits
Small, hard, astringent pears
🪵 Bark
Dark greyish-brown, cracking into small square scales, twigs often thorny
🗺️ Distribution
Europe, western Asia; scattered across France in hedgerows and woodland edges
🐝 Value for pollinators
Early white flowering rich in nectar, visited by bees in spring
✂️ Horticultural uses
Used as a rootstock for cultivated pears, planted in country hedgerows
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity; fruits very sour and astringent, edible once bletted
⚠️ Look-alike species
Wild pear
Pyrus pyraster
Common pear
Pyrus communis
The wild pear has much smaller, hard, astringent fruits, and often thorny twigs — the cultivated pear has none.
🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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