Chinese White Pear | |
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Chinese White Pear Flower | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Genus: | Pyrus |
Species: | P. × bretschneideri |
Binomial name | |
Pyrus × bretschneideri Rehder |
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 the Siberian pear (P. ussuriensis), but it can also be classified as a subspecies of the Chinese pear (P. pyrifolia).
These very juicy, white to light yellow pears, unlike the round Nashi pears (P. pyrifolia) that are also grown in eastern Asia, are shaped more like a European pear, narrow towards the stem end. “Ya Li” (鸭梨, pinyin yā lí), literally translated as "Duck Pear" due to its mallard-like shape, is one cultivar widely grown in China, and exported around the world. Ya pears taste similar to a mild Bosc pear, but are crisp, with a higher water content and lower sugar content.
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