Callery Pear
Callery pear is native to China and Vietnam. The leaves are oval, 4 to 8 cm long, glossy dark green above, on long pedicels that make them flash their slightly paler undersides in a breeze. The inedible fruits of the Callery pear are small (less than one cm in diameter), and hard, almost woody, until softened by frost, after which they are readily taken by birds. In summer, the shining foliage is dark green and very smooth, and in autumn the leaves commonly turn brilliant colors, ranging from yellow and orange to more commonly red, pink, purple, and bronze. However, since the color often develops very late in autumn, the leaves may be killed by a hard frost before their full color can develop. Callery pears are remarkably resistant to disease though some are particularly susceptible to storm damage and are regularly disfigured or even killed by strong winds, ice storms, heavy snow, or suffer limb loss due to their naturally rapid growth rate. The 'Bradford' species in particular is also known for its sickly sweet, often unpleasant smell during flowering. The trees were introduced to the U.S. as ornamental landscape trees in the mid-1960s. They became popular with landscapers because they were inexpensive, transported well and grew quickly. The New York Times promoted the tree saying, "few trees possess every desired attribute, but the ornamental pear comes unusually to close to the ideal."