Pyrus communis, known as the European pear or common pear, is a species of pearnative to central and eastern Europe and southwest Asia.
It is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars grown in Europe, North America, and Australia have been developed. Two other species of pears, the Nashi pear, Pyrus pyrifolia, and the Chinese white pearbai li, Pyrus × bretschneideri, are more widely grown in eastern Asia.
Origin
The cultivated European 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. 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."Theophrastus, Cato the Elder, and Pliny the Elder all present information about the cultivation and grafting of pears.
As for the mythical “partridge in a pear tree,” it most likely was a European partridge, and neither a Hungarian partridge nor a ruffed grouse, based on what I could find on the internet.
While that cinematic pair may have been priceless, PNC’s index placed the price of a pair at $750, and European turtledoves themselves are considered a threatened species ...The Home Depot listed Bartlett pear trees at about $58 this week.
Eau de vie is a European-style brandy that is generally aged in tanks instead of oak, and is bottled clear without any added sugars, differentiating it from the sweeter liqueurs with which it sometimes shares shelf space.
World inflation is now 5.8% after peaking at 9.4% ...U.S ... “It’s pretty much apples and pears,” Knightley said. “If we calculated it the way the Europeans do, inflation would be actually below the target [2%] already,” he said ... economy ... .
How do I know when it’s time to pick my pears? Last year I picked them when I thought they were ripe, but they were bad (the cores were brown and mushy). European pears need to be harvested when they are still hard.
"The effect of climate change at the 2040 horizon on the quality of pears was very minor ...Floods, hail and drought have already affected European pear growers in recent years, as climate change begins to leave fingerprints on growing patterns.
“It restores your faith in humanity that something like that can exist,” Cafaro said.Pears in Oregon, pheasants in South Dakota. Cafaro, who is of Italian-Ukrainian descent, said the European...
An Old European cut has a round shape, and 57-58 facets ... This Old European cut ring by Hancocks is set to the center with a diamond weighing 1.12cts with pear shape diamonds either side, set in platinum with a scalloped gallery.
“We have seen a surge in popularity for our three-stone rings using antique pear shape diamonds either side of an Old Mine cut or Old European cut,” explains Guy Burton, managing director of Hancocks...
In the Garden with Jamie Lee Ohland and Barry Weber ...Highland Ave ... So far, she has planted trees for quinces, peaches, cherries, apples, Asian plums, European plums, Asian pears, European pears, and pluots, which are a cross between plum and apricot.
Q. Our chitalpa tree underperformed last year after 10 years of growth. This year, two-thirds of it is dead ... A. Chitalpa is a mesic hybrid of the catalpa tree and desert willow ... Q ... A ... Q ... Susceptible trees include Asian pears, many European pears, and apples.
As a result, apples, pears, cherries, plums and apricots are all flowering earlier—by as much as a fortnight in some cases ... A single frosty night in April 2017 caused a 24% drop in the European yield of apples and a 12% drop in pear production.
“He had a great eye for spotting species new to European science at the time ... Another “neglected” specimen to be showcased in the Channel 5 documentary – Susan Calman’s Great BritishCities, airing next Friday – is an Opuntia (prickly pear) cactus.
Baltimore Sun
27 Oct 2024
Baltimore Sun
27 Oct 2024