urbpan | 365 Urban Species. #324: Callery Pear

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urbpan. The last tree with leaves still on it is a callery pear, which I noticed while I was driving down route 9.

Urban species #234: Callery pear Pyrus calleryana

The sugar maples have long dropped their leaves, the red maples' "October glory" has faded; even most of the oak trees have shed their foliage. But a line of street trees stubbornly hangs on, each tree bearing shiny, heart-shaped leaves, mostly green at the bottom, blazing to yellow and red toward the top. I was aware of these trees but despaired in ignorance of their identity. Then a group of us went to the Mount Auburn cemetery, where the exquisite landscaping is carefully composed and each tree bears an identification tag. We saw one of these trees, its leaves still multicolored in a sea of bare wooden skeletons, and rushed to read its tag.

The callery pear is a cultivated variety of a tree native to China. Along with its foliage, colorful and persisting into late fall, it is valued for its profuse blossoms, similar to those produced by trees in the same family: roses, cherries, and apples. It also resists most of the stresses of urban living, such as root compression and pollution. However, it is vulnerable to storm damage, and many of the individuals I've examined show scars from limbs having broken off in the wind. The most surprising thing about this pear tree is its fruit--by definition they are pears, but they are tiny round berries. They aren't brightly colored, or much favored by wildlife (though birds and squirrels will eat them), and a fruitless cultivar of the tree called "Bradford pear" is often planted. Many landscapers consider the callery pear to be overused.

Location: Aspinwall Ave, Brookline.

Callery pears line both sides of Aspinwall avenue in Brookline.

The varied foliage and small fruit of the tree.

I found them to be mealy and astringent, or soft and fermented.

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I agree with those who say they're overused. They are EVERYWHERE here in Dallas. Attractive trees, especially in fall and early spring, but I like a little variety, too.

They're absurdly common in the DC area too. The foliage is lovely this time of year, but the smell of the flowers in spring gets on my nerves.

that's the thing in my 'hood... well, the one that is just now gone, due to storm damage.

the wood is a brilliant wonderful yellow-orange, and smells ... bitter.

the fruit is very astringent. yuck :)

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Ahh! Callery and bradford pears. There's a callery/capital pear tree abutting the street in front of my house. Its foliage is lovely-- right now it's the only tree on the block still holding onto its yellow leaves; the rest of the boulevard trees are maples and have long since dropped their leaves. However, the blossoms in spring... ugh! They're ubiquitous and pretty, but they smell like a dead, rotting animal. So I tend to hate parking the car by the tree because I have to walk through a wall of that smell to get to the house.

Hey urbpan. So the pear tree's tag that we saw at Mount Auburn identified it as a Bradford pear (yes I even wrote that down in my notebook), yet there was fruit on it (allbeit very small and unpear shaped). What is up with that?

Indeed. I think plant cultivators are perverts, is all.

it's an issue of cultivar vs. common name. "bradford" was originally a cultivar of this species, but many gardeners (and tree afficionados) have taken to calling all pyrus calleryana bradford pears, regardless of whether they fruit or not.

They have become quite invasive here. An unmowed field me grew in almost completely in Callery Pears over the last 10 years.

Some of them (most especially Bradfords) are also notoriously weak in a windstorm, splitting down into the trunk.

i have seen healthy specimens of these trees break right in half and havent seen much interest from wildlife in the little brown berries it produces.
however they grow really fast and can be found at discount stores for 13.00 bucks at 9-10 foot.
so they make a wise choice for say 1-2 per acre mixed in with maples and ashes.

365 Urban Species. #324: Callery Pear

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Pyrus calleryana

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callery pear trees