On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the pear preserves recipe across from the article title. This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 13 January 2023. Pear tree” and “Pyrus” redirect here. Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October.

Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees. The tree is medium-sized and native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Pear wood is one of the preferred materials in the manufacture of high-quality woodwind instruments and furniture. About 3,000 known varieties of pears are grown worldwide, which vary in both shape and taste.

The fruit is consumed fresh, canned, as juice, or dried. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. The pear is native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of the Old World, from Western Europe and North Africa east across Asia. Most pears are deciduous, but one or two species in Southeast Asia are evergreen. European pear with an elongated basal portion and a bulbous end. Enclosed within its cellular flesh is the true fruit: five ‘cartilaginous’ carpels, known colloquially as the “core”.

One major difference is that the flesh of pear fruit contains stone cells. Pear cultivation in cool, temperate climates extends to the remotest antiquity, and evidence exists of its use as a food since prehistoric times. Many traces have been found in prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich. The pear was also cultivated by the Romans, who ate the fruits raw or cooked, just like apples.

Pliny’s Natural History recommended stewing them with honey and noted three dozen varieties. A certain race of pears, with white down on the undersurface of their leaves, is supposed to have originated from P. Other small-fruited pears, distinguished by their early ripening and apple-like fruit, may be referred to as P. The genus is thought to have originated in present-day Western China in the foothills of the Tian Shan, a mountain range of Central Asia, and to have spread to the north and south along mountain chains, evolving into a diverse group of over 20 widely recognized primary species. Asian species with medium to large edible fruit include P. Other small-fruited species are frequently used as rootstocks for the cultivated forms.

Many varieties, such as the Nashi pear, are not “pear-shaped”. According to Pear Bureau Northwest, about 3000 known varieties of pears are grown worldwide. The pear is normally propagated by grafting a selected variety onto a rootstock, which may be of a pear or quince variety. Three species account for the vast majority of edible fruit production, the European pear Pyrus communis subsp. Other species are used as rootstocks for European and Asian pears and as ornamental trees.

Pear wood is close-grained and at least in the past was used as a specialized timber for fine furniture and making the blocks for woodcuts. Pendula’, with pendulous branches and silvery leaves, has also won the award. Summer and autumn cultivars of Pyrus communis, being climacteric fruits, are gathered before they are fully ripe, while they are still green, but snap off when lifted. In 2020, world production of pears was 23. Pears may be stored at room temperature until ripe. Pears are ripe when the flesh around the stem gives to gentle pressure.