Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim.

Synonyms: P. sinensis Decne., not Lindl.

A deciduous tree 40 to 50 ft high; young shoots warted, nearly or quite glabrous, turning purplish brown the second year, often long and unbranched especially in var. ovoidea. Leaves roundish ovate to obovate-oblong, 2 to 4 in. long, rounded or slightly cordate at the base, abruptly narrowed to a short, slender point, margin beautifully, finely and regularly bristle-toothed; glabrous or nearly so; stalk slender, 1 to 21⁄4 in. long. Fruit globose on a very stout stalk, greenish yellow, 1 to 11⁄2 in. across, hard and inedible; calyx persistent.

Native of N.E. China, Korea, and the Ussuri region of the Russian Far East; introduced about 1865. This pear flowers very freely at Kew in late April and is then a very distinct and handsome tree.

var. hondoensis (Nakai & Kikuchi) Rehd. P. hondoensis Nakai & Kikuchi – This occurs wild in Japan. Its leaves are more strictly ovate, with fine, more appressed toothing; very handsome in blossom.

var. ovoidea (Rehd.) Rehd. P. ovoidea Rehd. – Remarkable for its curiously gaunt habit, the branches few and scarcely forked. Fruits conical, juicy, pale yellow, 11⁄2 in. long and wide.