Pyrus pyraster
- Height: up to 15 m
- Trunk: dark grey to blackish bark, initially smooth, later scaly and fissured, peeling off in small plates, sometimes also shrub-like, short shoots often ending in thorns
- Crown: conical, highly domed and open when mature
- Leaves: alternate, broadly elliptical, very slightly pointed, 3–7 cm long, glossy dark green above, bluish below, finely serrated margin, long-stalked
- Buds: reddish-brown and smooth
- Flowers: white to pink, long-stalked in umbellate, tufted inflorescences at branch tips, in April/May
- Fruits/Seeds: small, approx. 2–4 cm long aggregate fruits on thin stalks, rounded, hard, and greenish-yellow to brownish, bitter and woody
- Other: like all wild fruit species, it has high ecological value; an important source of nectar for bees and food for birds, as well as for other animals
Photos: Wolfgang Schödel (1,2,3,4)