Bradford Pear, Korean Pear, Callery Pear

Growth Form:  Tree

General:   Widely cultivate tree that flowers from March to April (one of the earliest flowering trees).

Flowers:   Appearing before leaves, white, in clusters up to 1.5 in. across.

Fruits and Seeds:   Fruits 0.5 in. spherical, green to brown with pale dots, with a core. Seeds small, like those in apples, fertile in some cases, spread by birds.

Leaves:   2 -3 in. wide, heart-shaped to rounded, margins wavy with fine teeth.

Stems or Branches:   Trunk single, then branching, grows 30-50 ft. tall. Side branches often grow nearly parallel with main trunk.

Threatens:   Woodlands, savannas, prairies. Full sun and soils well drained.

Look-Alikes:   Common Pear (P. communis), exotic, leave broadest above the middle, ovate, flowers 1.25 - 1.75 cm across, fruit 7 - 10 cm diameter. Native Prunus spp., fruit fleshy with hard pit.

Distribution:   Native to China. Planted as an ornamental throughout E U.S.

Other Links:  

http://www.il-acad-sci.org/advance_search.aspx
http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=10957
http://newcolumbia.sierraclub.org/articles/nativetrees.htm