I would describe the flavor as an Asian pear but with loads of tannins. Probably between pomegranate juice and an unripe American persimmon. The Texture is crisp and almost disappears when chewed. I will take more photos of the tree later today along with picking more of the fruit.
The tree is located off of highway 27 and is next to BB’s gas station in butler KY.
Are you sure it is Callery? Looks a lot like Chinese Sand Pear. Wild Sand pears are about 30mm to 40mm on average. With love and care they can get quite large.
P. pyrifolia is often referred to as the “sand pear” because it has a large number of grit cells especially near the core. The trait is common in the “Pashia” group of pears including P. ussuriensis, P. betulifolia, P. calleryana, and P. x bretschneideri (considered a subspecies of P. pyrifolia).
There used to be a Callery pear, back when pears were very desirable as landscape plants. It was called Burgundy Snow. It had large fruit like that which I thought was a bad idea for a landscape ornamental.
It was not a popular tree, except the deer loved them. They would create wallows around the trees looking for fruit. I tried one and they were sweet.
Could be any number of species from someones breeding programs. It looked and sold as a callery pear back in the 90’s.
There is a wild pear near me that fits that description perfectly. The ripe fruits are almost edible. I have always taken it to be an unusual sport of the millions of callery pears in our area.
The seeds are growing well and I will plant them in their own pots soon. The original tree is covered in small fruit. I will collect more fruit later and grow out more seeds.
Unfortunately I didn’t have time to collect scions this winter. Maybe I can collect summer bud wood? If anyone is interested in some let me know.
