wild pear tree

Above: A wild pear tree in
Crab Tree Square.

Below: one of many pear
trees in front of Westminster
Cathedral.

wild pear tree

Trees of London
Crab Tree Square

Pear tree

              The wild pear is the ancestor to all pear trees, but like the crab apple, which plays a similar role for apple trees, its fruit only bears a rudimentary resemblance to the pears that we buy in the shops. First, the fruit of the wild pear is much smaller and components like the seeds and the skin take up a proportionally high amount of space and the flesh is really just there as an after thought. Nevertheless, they are more or less pear shaped and the seeds are the same as the cultivated pear.


A cultivated pear tree
near the Barbican Centre. pear tree

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Tree Identification

Pyrus pyraster:

Leaf:
alternate; round, often curled.

 Pear leaf
Pear fruit

nuts/fruit: pears, as seen in shops, but smaller.
Pear tree flowers

Flowers:
small, white; grow in clusters.

Pear bark bark:
rough, grey, brown; cracking.
shape:
 grows to 20 metres; rounded crown.
general: not exactly everywhere, but surprisingly common in central London. There are some in Leicester Square.

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Location
Crab Tree Square is located opposite the Goodge Street
Spaghetti House restaurant. There are several wild pear trees
in the seating area, surrounded by benches

Trees of London        A James Wilkinson Publication ©