Yours for Good Fermentables ™: Pic(k) of the Week: Pear tree in winter

Saturday, April 01, 2023

Pic(k) of the Week: Pear tree in winter

Invasive but lovely, a Bradford pear tree blooms...in winter!

Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’) is a spring-flowering tree that has been widely planted throughout the eastern U.S. in the last few decades. It is a popular tree that is frequently seen in nearly every city within its growing range. The species is a native of China, Taiwan, Japan, and Vietnam.

The Bradford pear grows 30 to 50 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide. It has a wider and more erect, branchier canopy than other species of Pyrus calleryana. A rapid grower, it has a short to moderate life span (15 to 25 years). The most attractive feature of this thornless tree is the showy white flowers that appear before the leaves in the spring. Early spring flowering may last two weeks. The flowers, unfortunately, have an unpleasant [rotting fish] fragrance. Small, round, brown fruit then appear but are hidden by the leaves. Fruits are about the size of a marble and are often eaten by birds. In the fall, the Bradford pear is one of the last trees to have colorful leaves, mahogany-red and sometimes bright orange-red.

Pyrus calleryana and cultivars are considered invasive in southeastern US. Although the ‘Bradford’ pear was originally bred as sterile and thornless, it readily cross-pollinate with other cultivars of callery pears and subsequently produces viable fruit. The ripened fruit is eaten and disseminated by birds, which results in very thorny thickets of wild pear trees. Callery pears also have thorns ranging from ¼-inch long to over 2-inches long that can cause extensive damage to equipment [and humans].

Seen alongside the East Decatur Greenway in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA, on 17 February 2023.

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On 29 March 2022, Flickr's editors selected this image for inclusion in Flickr's Explore feature.

Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of images posted on Saturdays, occasionally, but not always (as is the case today), with a good fermentable as the subject.

Photo 14 of 52, for year 2023. See a hi-res version on Flickr: here. here.

Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.

Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.