The following subspecies are currently accepted:[2]
Pyrus communis subsp. caucasica(Fed.) Browicz – Turkey, Caucasus
Pyrus communis subsp. communis – Entire range except Caucasus
The cultivated Common pear (P. communis subsp. communis) is thought to be descended from two subspecies of wild pears, categorized as P. communis subsp. pyraster (syn.P. pyraster) and P. communis subsp. caucasica (syn. P. caucasica), which are interfertile with domesticated pears. Archeological evidence shows these pears "were collected from the wild long before their introduction into cultivation", according to Zohary and Hopf.[4] Although they point to finds of pears in sites in Neolithic and Bronze Age European sites, "reliable information on pear cultivation first appears in the works of the Greek and the Roman writers."[5]Theophrastus, Cato the Elder, and Pliny the Elder all present information about the cultivation and grafting of pears.[citation needed]
Pear tree in flowerTiny unripe pears
Common pear trees are not quite as hardy as apples, but nearly so. However, they do require some winter chilling to produce fruit. A number of Lepidopteracaterpillars feed on pear tree leaves.[citation needed]
For best and most consistent quality, common pears are picked when the fruit matures, but before they are ripe. Fruit allowed to ripen on the tree often drops before it can be picked, and in any event will be hard to pick without bruising. Pears store (and ship) well in their mature but unripe state if kept cold, and can be ripened later, a process called bletting. Some varieties, such as Beurre d'Anjou, ripen only with exposure to cold.[citation needed]
Relatively few cultivars of European or Asian pears are widely grown worldwide. Only about 20–25 European and 10–20 Asian cultivars represent virtually all the pears of commerce[citation needed]. Almost all European cultivars were chance seedlings or selections originating in western Europe, mostly France. The Asian cultivars all originated in Japan and China. 'Bartlett' (Williams) is the most common pear cultivar in the world, representing about 75% of US pear production.[citation needed]
Major cultivars
The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (August 2014)
Eight varieties of pear, from left to right, Williams' Bon Chrétien (sold in the US as Bartlett), two Red Bartlett varieties, d'Anjou, Bosc, Comice, Concorde, and Seckel
'Seckel' (USA; late 17th century Philadelphia area; still produced, naturally resistant to fireblight)[14]
'Starkrimson', also called Red Clapp's, is a red-skinned 1939 Michigan bud mutation of Clapp's Favourite. Its thick, smooth skin is a uniform, bright and intense red, and its creamy flesh is sweet and aromatic.[15]
'Summer Beauty'
'Sudduth'
'Taylor's Gold' (New Zealand - a russeted mutant clone of 'Comice')
Zohary, Daniel; Hopf, Maria; Weiss, Ehud (2012). Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The Origin and Spread of Domesticated Plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin (Fourthed.). Oxford: University Press. p.176.
Zohary, Daniel; Hopf, Maria; Weiss, Ehud (2012). Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The Origin and Spread of Domesticated Plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin (Fourthed.). Oxford: University Press. p.177.
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