Pyrus pashia
| Pyrus pashia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 30' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Pyrus pashia (common name: indian wild 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].
Range: E. Asia - Afghanistan to W. China.
Habitat: Shrubberies in the Himalayas to 2700 metres[2].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[3][4][2][5][6][7]. Up to 2.5cm in diameter[8]. The fruit is usually bletted[9], but even then it is not sweet[10]. Tasty when fully ripe, even when dried[8]. Our experience is that the fully ripe fruit has a reasonable flavour and, when bletted, is sweet and very pleasant[K]. A mature tree yields about 45kg of fruit per year[8]. The fruit contains about 6.8% sugars, 3.7% protein, 1% ash, 0.4% pectin. Vitamin C is very low, about 1.2mg per 100g[8].
Medicinal: The juice of the ripe fruit is used in the treatment of diarrhoea[7].
Usage: This plant can be used as a rootstock for the cultivated pear[8].
Wood - compact fine grained, hard, durable, liable to split and warp during seasoning. Used for small implements, walking sticks and fuel[2][6][11].
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.
Also Known As: P. kumaoni. P. variolosa.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Polunin, Oleg and Adam Stainton. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press, 1984.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gupta, Basant. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press, 1945.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Manandhar, Narayan. Plants and People of Nepal. Timber Press, 2002.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Parmar, Chiranjit. Wild Fruits of the Sub-Himalayan Region. Kalyani Publishers, 1982.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Gamble, James. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1972.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.