Callery Pear Tree

Basic Information

Tree ID:

Family:

Genus and species:

Description:

The Callery pear tree is a small decidious tree native to China and Vietnam. Look for its white flowers with an unpleasant odor in early spring.

Surveyors:

Mariana Lopez-Rosas and Katie Harmer

Location

Area:

Hillhouse

Collected Data

Tree shape:

Oval

Date of tree entry:

02/04/2015

Height:

18.10 m

Bark

The Callery pear tree has rough, textured bark that is green or brown in color. It has raised plateaus of bark that run along the axis of the branch or trunk.

Twigs & branches

Branches and twigs on the Callery pear tree look similar to each other and to the trunk. They all feature brown, rough bark. The twigs branch out and end in small buds.

Foilage

The Callery pear has simple, alternate, ovate leaves that are 4-7cm long. They are dark green in the summer and are orange or purple in the fall.

Reproductive Structures

This tree has small (2-3cm) white flowers with five petals each that bloom in May. These flowers are known for having an unpleasant smell.

Fruit

The Callery pear has small (less than 1cm) green and brown round fruit.

Seasons

Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

Research

Natural range of distribution:

Habitat:

It grows best under the sunshine but will tolerate partial shade and a variety of soil types and conditions, including occasional wet soils or drought. Since it withstands urban living elements, such as pollution and poor soil, it may grow in cities as well. In the U.S., it is found in eastern, central and southern regions of the country.

Origin, history, and uses:

The Callery pear tree was imported into the U.S. from China for the first time in 1909 to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston and later again in 1916 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help develop fire blight resistance in the common pear (Pyrus communis), which was devastating the pear industry. It wasn’t until 1950 that the resilience and ornamental value of the Callery pear tree were recognized, leading to its mass cultivation, including a wide variety of genotypes. Some of these are self-pollinating while others are strictly cross-pollinators. Some genotypes can propagate asexually through grafting and cutting the shoots that emerge from the rootstock.

Another advantageous survival mechanism of the Callery pear tree is its ability to form dense thickets that push out other plants including native species that can’t compete with it for water, soil, space and sunshine. For the Callery pear, this is good news, since it allows it to survive in a wide variety of environments at a fast rate. Other than fire blight, they generally do not have insects or diseases that may threaten their existence. In 2006 it was declared the third-most popular species in New York City.

Its ability to adapt to a wide variety of growing conditions makes the Callery pear tree a popular tree in landscaping, decorating both urban and rural yards, including malls, streets, and college campuses. Its spectacular spring coloration, at times yellow to red and white, makes it also very appealing visually, although in the spring it may release a foul odor. Nevertheless, it continues decorating most landscapes, especially in the South.

Phenology:

Callery pear trees grow rapidly, achieving 12- to 15-foot height increases during an 8 to 10-year period. Ultimately, it may grow to a height of 30 to 40 feet and about one-thrid as wide. However, it also has a relatively short lifespan of 15 to 25 years, though usually less since they may experience environmentally induced problems. With an upright-pyramidal position, attractive flowers and foliage, and its high adaptability, the Callery pear flowers in the beginning of spring before leaf production and are white with five petals with a sweet smell. The fruit is of smaller size, less than one centimeter and hard, serving as food for birds, which spread the seeds. In the summer, the foliage is dark green and in fall the leaves gain vibrant colors: red, pink, purple and bronze.

References:

http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/pyca80.htm

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/pyca.htm

http://eol.org/pages/299081/overview

http://webpage.pace.edu/naturespace/Bradford%20Pear.htm

http://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?ItemID=1089

http://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/printerfriendly.cfm?ID=155

http://blog.arborday.org/the-bradford-pear-is-it-the-right-tree-for-you/

http://blog.arborday.org/tag/alternatives-to-bradford-pear/

Other information of interest:

The wood from the Callery pear is used to make high quality furniture and instruments.

A common variety in the United States is the Bradford Pear.

It was selected Urban Tree of the Year in 2005 by trade arborist magazine City Trees.

A Callery pear tree survived 9/11 and is considered the Survivor Tree. It still stands nowadays at Ground Zero as a symbol of resilience.

Media and Arts

Children's poem on the Survivor Tree

A Graduation Ode to the Callery Pear Tree

by Katie Harmer

I will be graduating from Yale College in May.

In January of this term, I worried about how I would spend my last semester at Yale. I felt that I needed to accomplish much in all aspects of my life here during this last chance of a semester.

When we were given this tree and told that we would be spending the semester with it, some of my last-semester anxiety dissipated.

“If the Callery pear tree Number 33 can make it to spring, so can I,” I thought.

I was comforted knowing that in May, whether or not I spent my final months at Yale well, our Callery pear tree would bloom and I would graduate.

Grounded in the soil of Hillhouse Avenue, our Callery pear is ready.

Thank you, tree!

The 12 Months of the Year of a Callery Pear Tree

In the first month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

A Callery Pear Tree

In the second month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the third month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the fourth month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the fifth month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Five white petals

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the sixth month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Six unpleasant odors

Five white petals

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the seventh month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Seven ovate leaves

Six unpleasant odors

Five white petals

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the eighth month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Eight immature fruits

Seven ovate leaves

Six unpleasant odors

Five white petals

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the ninth month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Nine happy picnickers

Eight immature fruits

Seven ovate leaves

Six unpleasant odors

Five white petals

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the tenth month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Ten brilliant colors

Nine happy picnickers

Eight immature fruits

Seven ovate leaves

Six unpleasant odors

Five white petals

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the eleventh month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Eleven feasting birds

Ten brilliant colors

Nine happy picnickers

Eight immature fruits

Seven ovate leaves

Six unpleasant odors

Five white petals

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

In the twelfth month of the year

Mother nature gave to me

Twelve snow-covered branches

Eleven feasting birds

Ten brilliant colors

Nine happy picnickers

Eight immature fruits

Seven ovate leaves

Six unpleasant odors

Five white petals

Four unopened buds

Three barren twigs

Two brown barky branches

And a Callery Pear Tree

Search form

You are here