Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

Callery pear Rosaceae Pyrus calleryana Decne. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet play symbol: PYCA80
Leaf: Alternate, simple, heart-shaped to ovate with a finely serrated margin, 2 to 3 inches in length, shiny green above, paler and dull below.
Flower: Large (2 to 4 inches across) clusters of showy white flowers each 1/2 to 3/4 inch across, appearing before or with the leaves; often so densely flowering that the entire tree appears white.
Fruit: Small (1/2 inch diameter), round, brown pome, very bitter.
Twig: Glossy brown to reddish brown, medium in texture, spur shoots present; terminal buds are large (1/4 to 1/2 inch long), ovate, and covered in light brown wooly hairs.
Bark: At first smooth with numerous lenticels, light brown to reddish brown, becoming grayish brown with shallow furrows and scaly ridges.
Form: Typically quite upright and conical with very narrow branch angles. May reach 60 feet in height.
 Looks like: common pear - apple

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Additional Range Information: Pyrus calleryana is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and may seed into the landscape. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information