Herb: Asian Pear


Latin name: Pyrus pyrifolia culta


Synonyms: Pyrus sinensis culta


Family: Rosaceae (Rose Family)



Medicinal use of Asian Pear:

Antiseptic, astringent, febrifuge, nervine, pectoral.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Tree

Height:
10 m
(33 feet)

Flowering:
April

Habitat of the herb:

Not known in the wild.

Edible parts of Asian Pear:

Fruit - raw or cooked. Crisp, juicy with a fine flavour. The fruit contains about 6 - 9.5% sugar and up to 0.56% fruit acids.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the autumn, it will then usually germinate in mid to late winter. Stored seed requires 8 - 10 weeks cold stratification at 1°C and should be sown as early in the year as possible. Temperatures over 15 - 20°C induce a secondary dormancy in the seed. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse for their first year. Plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year. The seed of pear cultivars will not usually breed true to type.

Cultivation of Asian Pear:

Not known in the wild.

Known hazards of Pyrus pyrifolia culta:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.