fruit tree for id

[Rambling Rob]

Hello,

This fruit tree is growing on the cliff top near Sandown, IoW. Is it a species of pear? The fruits are turning dark red and are more round than pear shaped.

A couple of other (very old and possibly wild) pears I have seen on the island develop more typically pear-shaped yellowish (and sharp tasting) fruit.

The tree has a fairly typical low profile, being exposed to the prevailing wind.

Thanks for looking, Rob

[Dorts]

Sorry Rob, but I don't think I can make a definite ID despite some great pics. The Wild Pear - Pyrus pyraster is a very local plant but there are a number of recent records on the I.o W.
Its fruits are generally more or less rounded, (and inedible). But unlike the Cultivated Pear - Pyrus communis, the Wild Pear is spiny, (P. communis isn't). This is a determining factor, (once you have ruled out Crab Apple which is also spiny!).

I always like to see some bark before making an ID as it is quite distinct in the Pear. Also Pear usually flowers before leaves, Apple flowers after leaves have emerged.
If your plant is a Pear, I suspect it will be P. pyraster
Dorts.

[Rambling Rob]

Thanks Dorts,

I will see how the fruits develop and also try to photo some representative bark.

Here are shots of a solitary old tree which I think is a pear, a bit further around the coast at Bembridge. It's not far from a spot called Pear Tree Corner. I wonder if the tree is a remnant of an old orchard.

Rob

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by Rambling Rob

Thanks Dorts,

I will see how the fruits develop and also try to photo some representative bark.

Here are shots of a solitary old tree which I think is a pear, a bit further around the coast at Bembridge. It's not far from a spot called Pear Tree Corner. I wonder if the tree is a remnant of an old orchard.

Rob

This is almost certainly a Cultivated Pear - Pyrus communis, with a more normally-shaped fruit. Notice the well-broken bark and small-shiny leaves, typical of Pear. Could certainly be a 'relic' of an old orchard, Pears normally live longer than Apples.
Dorts.

[The Woodman]

I did think about crab apple but the form of the tree suggested pear to me. It's not like any wild pear I've seen and that's as far as I can go.

Dorts - there are some spineless crab apples out there, saying that, I'll check two local trees to support that. The spines on my willow leafed pear take some beating!

Off at a tangent again but an interesting fact is that the Plymouth Pear is one of the rarest plants in the UK. Facts from Plymouth City Council.

The Plymouth Pear is one of Britain's rarest native plants and can only be found in two places, within the city of Plymouth and near Truro in Cornwall. The Plymouth Pear is smaller than more common relatives and tends to grow in hedgerows. It flowers later than wild pears and displays pink tinged blossoms, with purple stamens in late April and May.

The Plymouth Pear is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). In Plymouth it can be found in Plymbridge Lane and Estover Road. Plymouth City Council have also planted specimens in Forder Valley and Efford Marsh Local Nature Reserves an attempt to secure the long-term survival of this species.

The Plymouth Pear is part of English Nature's Species Recovery Programme at the Royal Botanic Gardens, where three specimens have been planted outside Queen's Cottage in the hope of ensuring the long-term survival of this rare tree.

[Deb London]

Very interesting thread. I shall have to hunt that Plymouth Pear down next time I'm in the area.

I know of a tree that has what you might describe as inedible fruits (me, I'll eat anything, and I do munch on a fruit or two as I run). I now realise that the normal wild pear is so rare that it's not likely to be that. This tree's fruit is just forming at the moment. I will follow its progress and try and discover what it is.

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

Dorts - there are some spineless crab apples out there, saying that, I'll check two local trees to support that. The spines on my willow leafed pear take some beating!

Yes, that's true, you can occasionally find a Malus sylvestris without spines, the problem is, you then have to be sure it is not a M. domestica which are by far the more common wayside species.
M. domestica is said never to have spines.
The differences Stace gives is:
M. sylvestris - Leaves glabrous when mature. Pedicels and outside of calyx glabrous.
M. domestica: Leaves pubescent when mature. Pedicels and outside of calyx pubescent.

Originally Posted by The Woodman

Off at a tangent again but an interesting fact is that the Plymouth Pear is one of the rarest plants in the UK.

If you want to see 'The' Plymouth Pear, go to the Wrigley's Chewing Gum main factory, (Estover Road), and ask at the gate. They don't seem to mind at all.
Dorts.

[The Woodman]

Thanks for that info, Dorts.

You are quite correct, as always, about the difficulties in IDing Ms and Md, it's bit of a minefield!

Until quite recently there was a nice Md growing between the revetment block cracks on the seaward side of our local railway line. Until the contractors de-vegged the embankment, I always wondered if it had seeded by way of a core thrown from a train or washed up on a high spring tide. (There was also a self sown Cotoneaster which may have come from the Great Orme area IMHO - not impossible - it looked like it to me)

If I'm ever in Plymouth (it'll be the first time) I would like to see the tree inside Wrigley's and if I see a jogger munching on a hard sour fruit I'll introduce myself to Deb!

Thanks for the info again.

[bigdave60dog]

Dunno where the idea of it looking like pear tree came from . It looks just like Crab tree to me. However, it has pear bark and leaves so it will certainly have pears on it. What form they take -Big or tiny- which will tell you if it is Wild, cultivated or a cross -is a thing that you will have to wait to find out.(not all wild pears are covered in thorns. Some have just few that are hard to find.)
Anyone who tires to say that they can tell otherwise is being a bit over optimistic in my opinion.
Dave

[The Woodman]

q.v. "It looks just like Crab tree to me. However, it has pear bark and leaves so it will certainly have pears on it."

Serious question, bigdave60dog, can you tell from the fruiting twig's bark on the two images in the original post that it's a pear?