Pyrus L.

26. Pyrus L. View in CoL 1

Deciduous shrubs or trees, often spiny on lower branches or when young. Leaves simple, rarely lobed; stipules caducous. Flowers in corymbs. Petals clawed, white, rarely pinkish; stamens 15-30; anthers dehiscing centripetally, usually red; carpels 2-5, connate, walls cartilaginous in fruit; ovules 2; styles 2-5, free. Fruit pyriform, turbinate or globose; flesh containing stone-cells.

The leaves described are the middle leaves of the short shoots.

P. salicifolia Pallas , Reise 3: 734 (1776), a Caucasian species, has been recorded from Krym and European Turkey, but apparently in error for 11 and 9 respectively.

Literature: An. A. Federov in Sokolov, Derev'ja i Kustarniki SSSR 3: 151-306 (1954). A. Terpó, Ann. Acad. Horti-Viticult. (Budapest) 22(6, 2): 1-258 (1960). J. do Amaral Franco & M. L. da Rocha Afonso, Rev. Fac. Ci. (Lisboa) ser. 2C, 13(2): 175-213 (1965).

1 Fruit with deciduous calyx 2 Leaves aristate-dentate; inflorescence and unfolding leaves glabrous 2. magyarica 2 Leaves crenate-dentate, serrulate or entire; inflorescence and unfolding leaves pubescent or tomentose 3 Leaves crenate-dentate or serrulate 1. cordata 3 Leaves entire 3. rossica 1 Fruit with persistent calyx 4 Fruit (5—)6—16 cm, fleshy, sweet-tasting 13. communis 4 Fruit not more than 5-5 cm, hard, usually not sweet-tasting 5 Leaves not more than 1 | times as long as wide 6 Leaves cuspidate, entire 5. caucasica 6 Leaves not cuspidate, crenulate or serrulate at least in part 7 Petals 10-17x 7-13 mm; leaves thin 4. pyraster 7 Petals 8-10x 5-7 mm; leaves thick 6. bourgaeana 5 Leaves more than 1 | times as long as wide 8 Leaves glabrous when unfolding 7. syriaca 8 Leaves hairy when unfolding 9 Mature leaves glabrous or papillose beneath 10 Leaves crenulate, rounded at the base 6. bourgaeana 10 Leaves entire to slightly serrulate, cuneate at the base 8. amygdaliformis 9 Mature leaves pubescent or tomentose beneath 11 Styles densely villous, at least at base 12 Styles villous to the middle; fruit 2-3 cm 10. elaeagrifolia 12 Styles villous only at base; fruit 3-5 cm 11. nivalis 11 Styles ± glabrous 13 Leaves usually less than 3-5 cm wide, entire 9. salvifolia 13 Leaves usually more than 3-5 cm wide, serrulatecrenulate towards apex 12. austriaca