Herb: Sand Pear


Latin name: Pyrus pyrifolia


Synonyms: Ficus pyrifolia, Pyrus serotina


Family: Rosaceae (Rose Family)



Medicinal use of Sand Pear:

Antiseptic, astringent, febrifuge, nervine, pectoral.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Tree

Height:
10 m
(33 feet)

Flowering:
April

Habitat of the herb:

Warm rainy regions at elevations of 100 - 1400 metres in China. Naturalized in low mountains and around villages in C. and S. Japan.

Edible parts of Sand Pear:

Fruit - raw or cooked. Hard and gritty. Firm crisp and juicy when fully ripe, they are eaten out of hand or used in fruit salads, pies or baked etc. The fruit is up to 3cm long. Up to 5cm in another report. The average yield from wild trees in the Himalayas is 83kg per year, though some trees yield up to 200kg. The fruit contains about 4.9% sugars, 3.2% protein, 0.9% pectin.

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.

Cultivation of Sand Pear:

Warm rainy regions at elevations of 100 - 1400 metres in China. Naturalized in low mountains and around villages in C. and S. Japan.

Known hazards of Pyrus pyrifolia:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.