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Pyrus spinosa
Almond-leaved pear
Almond-leaved pear (Eng), peral de monte (Spa), perelloner, perera borda (Cat), madari-latxa (Baq), pereira silvestre (Por).
Native
DID YOU KNOW...? This species was formerly known as Pyrus amygdaliformis, due to the similarity of its leaves with those of the almond tree, whose Latin name is Amygdalus communis.
DESCRIPTION
This is a thorny shrub or small tree with greyish bark, which can be up to 6 m tall. It is characterised by its elongated leaves, whose blade is more than twice as long as it is wide, 0.3-5 cm by 1.9 (2.1) cm. They are deciduous, simple, alternate (this character is best seen in the middle part of the branches, as at the ends they are very close together), with a dentate or sometimes almost entire margin. When they are young both the twigs and the winter buds are covered with abundant whitish hairs, but adult specimens are almost hairless. The pears are globose and have a very thick stalk.
ECOLOGY
This species is found in watercourses or on the slopes of low mountains, and lives in hedgerows, thorny fringes together with holm and cork oaks, from sea level up to altitudes of around 1100 m.
DISTRIBUTION
This tree lives in southern Europe, from the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula in the Catalan coastal mountain ranges, to the Balkan Peninsula and western Anatolia.
