Pyrus betulaefolia
| Pyrus betulaefolia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 25' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Pyrus betulaefolia (common name: birch-leaved pear)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the autumn, it will then usually germinate in mid to late winter. Stored seed requires 8 - 10 weeks cold stratification at 1°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible[1]. Temperatures over 15 - 20°c induce a secondary dormancy in the seed[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse for their first year. Plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Cultivation: Prefers a good well-drained loam in full sun[1]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Tolerates light shade but does not fruit so well in such a position. Tolerates atmospheric pollution, excessive moisture and a range of soil types if they are moderately fertile[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[1].
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[1].
A fast growing tree[2].
Range: E. Asia - N. China.
Habitat: Open slopes and plains from sea level to 1800 metres[3].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[4][5][6][7][8]. The fruit is quite small, about 15mm in diameter[1].
Flowers[4][8]. Dried, powdered and made into cakes[7].
The dried leaves are used to make tea[7].
Medicinal: The leaves are used in the treatment of cholera, colic and cramps[9].
The cooked fruit is used to treat mucous diarrhoea[9].
Usage: This species has long been used as a rootstock for the cultivated pears by the Chinese[2], it is recently also being used as a rootstock in N. America and in Europe[8][1].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.