Pyrus Bay

Pyrus calleryana is deciduous, growing to 5 to tall, often with a conical to rounded crown. The leaves are oval, 4 to long, glossy dark green above, and pale beneath. They have long petioles alternately arranged on branches. The white, five-petaled flowers are about 2 to in diameter. They are produced abundantly in early spring, before the leaves expand fully. The fruits (which are often assumed to be inedible due to their abundant, cyanide-laced seeds) of the Callery pear are small (less than 1 cm in diameter) and hard, almost woody, until softened by frost, after which they are readily taken by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings. In summer, the shining foliage is dark…