# Fruit Identification?



## HomesteaderWife (Oct 26, 2015)

Hey there BYH- I need a bit of help identifying what fruit this is. My husband's grandfather planted this tree along with a pear tree many years ago, and assumes it is some form of pear. I looked up different varieties, and it has texture like an Asian Pear, but is very small. There are so many of these small fruits that will go to waste soon if I cannot figure out what they are, and what I can do with them. If it is in fact some sort of pear, would it be suitable for canning? Any ideas?

Thank you for your help and time!


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## chiques chicks (Oct 26, 2015)

If no one identified it, perhaps a picture of the tree, bark, leaves and the fruit cut in half to see see the seeds or pit may help


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## OneFineAcre (Oct 26, 2015)

Do they taste good?


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## HomesteaderWife (Oct 26, 2015)

I believe it is an un-edible "ornamental" pear from what I finally managed to dig up. I will cut one open and also take photos of the tree shortly.


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## Bunnylady (Oct 26, 2015)

I agree; that looks a lot like the fruit of a Bradford pear. I understand that they were once used as root stock for some edible cultivars; I suppose it might be possible that the original graft died, and the root stock then grew.

It's rather funny - the Bradford pear is now a popular ornamental tree (personally, I hate them with a purple passion!!), but they in turn are grafted onto root stock of yet another tree . . .


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## HomesteaderWife (Oct 26, 2015)

@Bunnylady - You have a good point, as far as the root stock theory to it. I will post some more photos later of the tree and the fruit as I mentioned. But it looks alot like this tree in the link below:  
http://lh2treeid.blogspot.com/2010/03/pyrus-calleryana-ornamental-pear.html


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## Baymule (Oct 26, 2015)

Before you cut it down, think about if the other pear tree needs a pollinator. Often a fruit tree won't bear very well all on it's own. In the meantime, plant another pear tree!


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## greybeard (Oct 26, 2015)

I would think it is indeed some variety of ornamental, probably Bradford. Bradfords don't really bear edible fruit and won't unless they themselves are pollinated by an outside source. Bradfords were designed to be 100% sterile, and only bear flowers but they didn't stay that way for long--they've been 'bastardized' to produce little pear looking nubs. Invasive in some places and right after the glorious flowering, an undesirable stench, not unlike rotting flesh or dead fish will arise from the area around the Bradford. Bradford is known as "the most over planted tree in America".
Yes, as a member of the Callery pear family, they will act as a pollinator to other Callery trees.


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## bonbean01 (Oct 27, 2015)

My Bradford pear trees do not produce anything as large as the pear in your hand.  Only tiny little ones that the birds eat in winter.  Have never smelled anything around my trees, but am guessing there are several Bradford pear tree varieties ?


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## Bunnylady (Oct 27, 2015)

"Bradford" is the name of one  very popular cultivar of the callery pear. The name has become almost synonymous with the species in the minds of a lot of people, but there are other cultivars, and  plenty of unnamed plants as well. I  daresay the fruit can vary with the variety.


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## Baymule (Oct 27, 2015)

Why would anybody want a fruit tree that is only "ornamental"???? No fruit?? Gheesh. Oh, I forgot, most people get their fruit from a can or the grocery store. The idea of actually picking their own or heaven forbid, eating something that has a blemish (shudders) not to mention that they wouldn't be interested in all the work involved preserving that imperfect fruit themselves.


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## bonbean01 (Oct 27, 2015)

Agree Baymule!!!!!  Was disappointed when we bought our place that the pear and crabapple and cherry tree were all ornamental...why???? 

But they were mature trees and the blooms in spring are beautiful.

Since we bought this place, every fruit tree we planted is for FRUIT you eat!!!!  Nothing else would make any sense!  Although this year the cardinal population was higher than normal and we were unprepared for them dive bombing and pigging out on our apples and grapes and figs   Next year I will be ready!


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## Bunnylady (Oct 28, 2015)

Baymule said:


> Why would anybody want a fruit tree that is only "ornamental"????



Why plant a dogwood or a crepe myrtle, or an azalea or a rose or a daffodil? Simply for the looks, of course; with the possible exception of the the rose, none of the plants I mentioned have any real uses besides being "eye candy." I think it's wonderful when I can plant something that has more than one use in a landscape (food for wildlife counts with me), but there's a whole lot of landscaping that is done just for the beauty of it, and there are some ornamental cherries and crabapples that are simply spectacular! 

(As I said earlier, I draw the line at Bradford pears. They have a self-destructive branching structure that makes them impossible to prune properly, and the wood is brittle. About the time that they get some real size to them, huge chunks of the canopy break out in heavy weather. Their natural shape looks absurdly like something a child would draw. Yes, they put on a nice flower show in the Spring, and even manage some good Fall color some years - but seeing half of a 40-foot specimen land in a parking lot after a run-of-the-mill Summer thunderstorm on a routine basis kinda wrecks the appeal for me).


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## Baymule (Oct 28, 2015)

Don't get me wrong @Bunnylady I love flowering trees too. We moved in February from a house I've had for 30 years. The only thing I miss is our beautiful 50 year old crepe myrtle tree.  We bought 4 to plant here, but they won't reach the size and beauty of the one at our old house in our lifetimes. And we have a wild wooded area on the south end of our house that definitely needs a gazebo and a couple of dogwoods. 






But you can darn sure bet that the fruit trees we plant here at our new place will be real, fruit bearing trees.


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## HomesteaderWife (Oct 29, 2015)

Needless to say, we plan on getting TRUE fruit trees in years to come, because this was highly disappointing. I am attaching some photos of the inside of the little fake "fruit" and the tree. Hope this may help for future reference for someone so they don't get confused by this like I did.


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