Pyrus communis

Common pear

Family: Rosaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Common pear is a naturalized shrub found in northern Sierra Foothills, southern Sacramento Valley, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, White and Inyo Mountains, and Desert Mountains in disturbed places at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces white, odorous flowers 10 to 15 millimeters long. Growing with somewhat thorny branches that become smooth with age, the shrub reaches variable sizes with distinctive branching. Its leaves are ovate to wide-ovate, 2 to 7 centimeters long, with rounded teeth and initially hairy surfaces that become glabrous as they mature. The fruit is large, measuring 3 to 15 centimeters in length with a persistent calyx, characteristic of cultivated and escaped pear plants.

Habitat: Disturbed places

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, n SNF, ScV, TR, PR, W&ampI, DMtns

California counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, Sonoma, Orange, Mono, Sacramento, Butte, El Dorado, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Trinity, Mendocino, San Diego, Yolo, Mariposa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.