Pyrus pyrifolia
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Speciesbox Pyrus pyrifolia is a species of pear tree native to southern China and northern Indochina that has been introduced to Korea, Japan and other parts of the world.<ref name="POWO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The tree's edible fruit is known by many names, including Asian pear,<ref name="HortusIII">Template:Cite book</ref> Persian pear, Japanese pear,<ref name="HortusIII" /> Chinese pear,<ref name="HortusIII" /><ref>Template:PLANTS</ref> Korean pear,<ref name="Lee">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Mishkin">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Coyne">Template:Cite news</ref> Taiwanese pear, apple pear,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> zodiac pear, three-halves pear, papple, naspati and sand pear.<ref name="HortusIII" /> Along with cultivars of P. × bretschneideri and Pyrus ussuriensis, the fruit is also called the nashi pear.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>In Japanese the fruit is called nashi. The best variety is called shingo in Korean.</ref> Cultivars derived from Pyrus pyrifolia are grown throughout East Asia, and in other countries such Pakistan, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand, and America. Traditionally in East Asia the tree's flowers are a popular symbol of early spring, and it is a common sight in gardens and the countryside.
The fruits are not generally baked in pies or made into jams because they have a high water content and a crisp, grainy texture, very different from the European varieties. They are commonly served raw and peeled.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The fruit tends to be quite large and fragrant. When carefully wrapped, having a tendency to bruise because of its juiciness, it can last for several weeks (or more) in a cold, dry place.
CultureEdit
Due to their relatively high price and the large size of the fruit of cultivars, the pears tend to be served to guests, given as gifts, or eaten together in a family setting.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In cooking, ground pears are used in vinegar- or soy sauce-based sauces as a sweetener, instead of sugar.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They are also used when marinating meat, especially beef, with a notable example being in the Korean dish bulgogi, due to the presence of enzymes to tenderize the proteins in the meat.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Australia, these pears were first introduced into commercial production beginning in 1980.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Japan, fruit is harvested in Chiba, Ibaraki, Tottori, Fukushima, Tochigi, Nagano, Niigata, Saitama and other prefectures, except Okinawa. Nashi ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) may be used as a late Autumn kigo, or "season word", when writing haiku. Nashi no hana ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, pear flower) is also used as a kigo of spring.<ref>The Yuki Teikei Haiku Season Word List Template:Webarchive from the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society (Northern California)</ref> At least one city (Kamagaya-Shi, Chiba Prefecture) has the flowers of this tree as an official city flower.<ref name=":0" />
In Nepal (Nepali: Naspati नस्पाती) and the Himalayan states of India, they are cultivated as a cash crop in the Middle Hills between about Template:Convert in elevation, where the climate is suitable. The fruit are carried to nearby markets by human porters or, increasingly, by truck, but not for long distances because they bruise easily.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In Taiwan, pears harvested in Japan have become luxurious presents since 1997 and their consumption has jumped.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2" />
In China, the term "sharing a pear" (Template:Lang-zh) is a homophone of "separate" (Template:Lang-zh). As a result, sharing a pear with a loved one can be read as a desire to separate from them.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Korea, the fruit is known as Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}),<ref name=":0" /> and it is grown and consumed in great quantity. In the South Korean city of Naju, there is a museum called The Naju Pear Museum and Pear Orchard for Tourists ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Cyprus, the pears were introduced in 2010 after initially being investigated as a new fruit crop for the island in the early 1990s. They are currently grown in Kyperounta.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CultivarsEdit
Cultivars are classified in two groups. Most of the cultivars belong to the Akanashi ('Russet pears') group, and have yellowish-brown rinds. The Aonashi ('Green pears') have yellow-green rinds.
Important cultivars include:
- 'Chojuro' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Japan, 1893?)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nsw1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ('Russet pears')
- 'Kosui' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Japan, 1959; the most important cultivar in Japan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ('Russet pears')
- 'Hosui' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Japan, 1972)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ('Russet pears')
- 'Imamuraaki' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Japan, native)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> ('Russet pears')
- 'Nijisseiki' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Japan, 1898; name means "20th century", also spelled 'Nijusseiki')<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ('Green pears')
- 'Niitaka' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Japan, 1927)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ('Russet pears')
- 'Okusankichi' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Japan, native)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ('Russet pears')
- 'Raja' (new)<ref name="Raja">Template:Cite book</ref> ('Russet pears')
- 'Shinko' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Japan, pre-1941)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nsw2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ('Russet pears') ('Russet pears')
- 'Hwangkeum' ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Korea, 1984, 'Niitaka' × 'Nijisseiki')
- 'Huanghuali' (not to be confused with the wood of Dalbergia odorifera, also called Huanghuali)<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Template:AnchorPyrus pyrifolia var. cultaEdit
Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta Template:Nihongo is a Japanese cultivar of pears.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is also known as a Nashi tree.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sometimes called the Sand Pear<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Yamanashi Prefecture is named after the fruit.
KanjiEdit
It has a Chinese character representing it in Japanese Template:Nihongo. It is one of the Kyōiku kanji or Kanji taught in elementary school in Japan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
It is one of the 20 kanji added to the Kyoiku kanji that are found in the names of the following prefectures of Japan<ref name="asahi-都道府県名">Template:Cite news</ref>
It also generically refers to Pears in Chinese.
GalleryEdit
- Korean pear.jpg
A Japanese pear wrapped with a ribbon to give as a gift. A United States quarter is provided for scale
- Asian.pear-Pyrus.pyrifolia-01.jpg
Sliced
- Nashi-pear,katori-city,japan.JPG
Whole and cut
- Asian.pear-Pyrus.pyrifolia-03.jpg
Padded to stop bruising
- Asian.pear-Pyrus.pyrifolia-07.jpg
Compared to a hand
- Asian.pear-Pyrus.pyrifolia-06.jpg
Group foamed for shipping
- Korean.pear-Bae-Singo-01.jpg
At a South Korean market
- Nashi pear tree in bloom.jpg
Nashi pear tree in bloom
- Golden Asian Pear.png
Whole Golden Asian Pear
- Golden Asian Pear 2.png
Whole Golden Asian Pear
NotesEdit
External linksEdit
- Guidelines for the conduct of tests for distinctness, uniformity and stability - Japanese pear, The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, 1994-11-04.
- Template:In lang ニホンナシ育成品種の系統図 (Cultivar trees of Japanese pears), National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Japan
- Shin Hiratsuka, Shao-Ling Zhang "Relationships between fruit set, pollen-tube growth, and S-RNase concentration in the self-incompatible Japanese pear" Scientia Horticulturae, 95 (4), 309-318 (2002).
- Carlos Castillo, Takeshi Takasaki, Toshihiro Saito, Shigemi Norioka, Tetsu Nakanishi "Clonlng of the S8-RNase (S8 allele) of Japanese Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai)" Plant Biotechnology, 19 (1), 1-6 (2002).
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