Pyrus × bretschneideri

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Chinese White Pear
Chinese White Pear
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Subfamily: Maloideae Genus: Pyrus Species: P. × bretschneideri
Binomial name
Pyrus × bretschneideri Rehd.

Pyrus × bretschneideri, the Chinese White Pear (白梨 bái lí), is an interspecific hybrid species of pear native to northern China, where it is widely grown for its edible fruit. Recent molecular genetic evidence confirms some relationship to P. ussuriensis, but it can also be classified as a subspecies of P. pyrifolia. These very juicy, white to lightly yellow pears, unlike the round Nashi pears, also grown in eastern Asia, are shaped more like a European Pear with a narrower, elongated base. They taste like a cross between a rose and a pineapple, and are crisp and sweet from the tree, although the taste has also been described like a pear. “Ya Li” (鸭梨, pinyin yā lí) is one cultivar widely grown in China, and has been exported to Europe and North America.