Mystery Pear
CAN ANYONE IDENTIFY THIS FRUIT FOR ME? PLEASE EMAIL.
This is a PEAR, despite its appearance, and very large- click on the thumbnail for the
actual size picture. The texture is like cardboard, very hard and tough like a turnip, until cooked, when the
graininess disappears entirely; the flavour is excellent. The fruits on the tree (which I found in Oxfordshire, and which is at least 60 years old) are magnificent;
between a pound and a pound and a half in weight, and all look like giant apples.
It could be a lost variety, though I'm no pear expert. Ripe in mid-Dec; a few pears still on the tree in early
Jan. Jim Bastian (USA) suggests that it might be a giant Asian pear. Sarah Lovett (Washington, U.S.) agrees.
If so, what is an old Asian pear tree doing in the middle of England?
I've just added the blossom picture in case it aids identification.
compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
