Tree Highlight: Callery pear
Callery pear
Pyrus calleryana (Family Rosaceae)
Callery pear is not recommended for planting in spite of its attractive flowers
The basics
Callery pear is a fast growing, pyramidally shaped tree that flowers profusely in the spring, producing attractive white flowers. It has alternate, glossy, dark green leaves, 1-2 inches in length, that turn reddish-purple in the autumn. The twigs produce sharp thorns up to 3 inches in length. Fruits are produced in early fall and are olive green, round, and 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Callery pear is native to Korea and China. It is very adaptable and in the past was widely planted in the US as an ornamental and street tree. However, it has a number of traits that have made it fall out of favor. The flowers, which occur in abundance, have a disagreeable odor, and the tight, dense branching pattern make it prone to wind damage.
Did you know?
- Callery pear is not recommended for planting! It is highly invasive, spreading rapidly, forming dense thickets, and displacing native vegetation.
- Don’t eat the fruit! Callery pear fruit is bitter and considered toxic to humans.
- Callery pear is one of the first trees to bloom in the spring.
- Several varieties of Callery pear were bred to be thornless, disease resistant, and sterile, but when crossed with wild pollen they revert back to their native characteristics.
- Many communities across Kentucky and elsewhere have bounty programs targeting this species to help reduce its spread.
Callery pears are easy to spot in early Spring because of their white blooms.
Callery pear fruit is eaten by many birds, but is toxic to humans.
Wildlife
- Fruits are readily consumed by birds, which disseminate seed and contribute to the invasiveness of Callery pear.
- Almost no caterpillars feed on Callery pear, and the lack of caterpillars creates food deserts for native songbirds.
- By invading grasslands and displacing native plants, Callery pear is a threat to wildlife.
Uses
- Callery pear is occasionally used as rootstock for grafting edible pear cultivars, including ‘Bosc’ and ‘Nashi’ (Asian) pears.
- Despite its negative characteristics, Callery pear does provides some positive ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and stormwater interception.
Callery pear wood is known to be weak over time, and breaks easily during strong winds.
Benefits
Over a 20-year period, a healthy Callery pear with a diameter of 8 inches will offset 4,142 car miles worth of CO2, absorb enough stormwater to fill 515 bathtubs, and remove an amount of pollution from the air - in gaseous and particulate form - equivalent in weight to 39 smartphones! Learn more at: https://mytree.itreetools.org/
Pesky Plants: Callery Pear
By University of Kentucky Forestry and Natural Resources Extension
Click to watchContact us: ufi@uky.edu
Images sourced from forestyimages.org