Pyrus calleryana

Common Name: callery pear

Family: Rosaceae

Common Synonyms: none

USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 to 9

Growth Habit: Tree

Origin: China

FISC Category: -

FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: No

Introduction Date: 1963

IFAS Assessment:

• North: INVASIVE
• Central: INVASIVE
• South: INVASIVE

Description

Tree 9-18 m in height, deciduous, with upright branches, some trees thorny.Leaves alternate, ovate, 5-7.6 cm long, leathery, lustrous green, turning shades of yellow, orange, purple and red in fall. Flowers 2.5 cm across, arranged in clusters of a dozen, each cluster about 8 cm across, appearing before and with the leaves in early spring. Fruit a pome, spherical, brown, about 1.5 cm in diameter.

Habitat

Disturbed areas

Comments

May form thickets from root sprouts or seed. Seeds spread by birds and other animals (USDA FS).

Control Methods

• Manual: Mechanical: Manual pulling of seedlings. Cut and bulldoze mature trees when fruit are absent.
• Chemical: Cut large stems and treat with glyphosate at 25-50% (USDA FS).
• Biological: NA

Control Notes

NA

References

Floridata. 2014. Pyrus calleryana #233. http://www.floridata.com/ref/p/pyru_cal.cfm. Accessed on June 20, 2014.

Miller, J. H., S. T. Manning, and S. F. Enloe. 2010. A Management Guide for Invasive Plants in Southern Forests. USDA Forest Service. General technical Report SRS-131. Page 47.