Arkansas Tree Database

Scientific name:

Pyrus Calleryana

Size:

25' tall by 20' wide

Leaves:

alternate, simple, oval, 1.5"-3" long and about as broad, very finely toothed; shiny green above, paler beneath

Flowers:

showy white, in clusters of 5-12, malodorous; early spring

Fruit:

1/2" or less round brown pear (called a pome), not ornamental and hidden by foliage, eaten by birds

Fall Interest:

reddish purple to maroon; deciduous

Culture:

sun; adaptable to soils

Disease/Insect:

fireblight

Use:

widely invasive and not recommended

Cultivars:

'Bradford,' 'Aristocrat,' 'Capital,' 'Chanticleer'

Notes:

bark brown to gray and smooth when young becoming scaly with age; short trunk with rigid ascending branches, giving the trees a pyramidal or oval outline; stout, sharp thorns; now widely invasive and not recommded even in its thornless form; native to Asia