Staples, G.W. & Herbst, D.R. (2005) A Tropical Garden Flora; plants cultivated in the Hawaiian islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Description of the genus
Tree. Leaves simple, often long-petiolate, blades usually lanceolate-ovate; margins finely serrate. Inflorescence a corymb or umbel-shaped. Flowers 5-parted; calyx lobes narrowly triangular; white, often pink in bud. Fruit a fleshy pome, usually golden brown.
Derivation of name: Pyrus: the classical name for a pear.
Worldwide: About 70 species, all native to temperate Eurasia.