Pyrus bourgaeana

Pyrus bourgaeana, the Iberian pear, is a close relative of Pyrus communis L. The latter was domesticated about 2500 years ago. This small tree (typically 3–6 m high) is widely distributed across the southern Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco, where it coexists with four Pyrus species: P. communis L., P. cordata Dew., P. spinosa Forssk, and P. nivalis Jacq. Characteristics to discriminate these species are the width of fruit peduncle, petal size, leaf width and petiole length served to the taxa. Pyrus bourgaeana hermaphrodite flowers are white, rarely tinted pink, 2–3 cm diameter, and have five petals. Fruits are non-dehiscent globose pomes weighing ~ 9.5 g, with green or brown skin inconspicuous to birds, copious lenticels permitting scent to emanate, and pulp high in fiber. Each fruit usually contains 2-4 full seeds. Within the Iberian Peninsula, P. bourgaeana distribution is very fragmented with trees occurring at low densities in small patches of Mediterranean scrubland that are isolated from each other by towns, cultivations, etc. Within these patches, mature trees often are aggregated in small clusters of 8-10 individuals Iberian pears are remarkably resistant to sicknesses or blight; they are more often killed by storms or high winds than by sickness.