Pyrus pyrifolia
| Pyrus pyrifolia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 33' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Pyrus pyrifolia (common name: sand 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 parent of the cultivated Asian pears[2].
Range: E. Asia - China.
Habitat: Warm rainy regions at elevations of 100 - 1400 metres in China[3]. Naturalized in low mountains and around villages in C. and S. Japan[4].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked. Hard and gritty[2]. Firm crisp and juicy when fully ripe, they are eaten out of hand or used in fruit salads, pies or baked etc[5]. The fruit is up to 3cm long[1]. Up to 5cm in another report[6]. The average yield from wild trees in the Himalayas is 83kg per year, though some trees yield up to 200kg[6]. The fruit contains about 4.9% sugars, 3.2% protein, 0.9% pectin[6].
Medicinal: Antiseptic, astringent, febrifuge, nervine, pectoral[7].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Also Known As: P. serotina. Rehd.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 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.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Parmar, Chiranjit. Wild Fruits of the Sub-Himalayan Region. Kalyani Publishers, 1982.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.