# What kind of tree is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 28, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875 "2013-09-28T16:37:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/1 "2013-09-28T16:37:08Z")
We just bought some land with these trees lining the driveway. What are they? [https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/548423\_598461763530441\_1035668206\_n.jpg](https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/548423_598461763530441_1035668206_n.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/2 "2013-09-28T17:01:38Z")
Looks like nuts of some sort. Crack one open and take pics of that. It seems vaguely pecanish to me for some reason. Edit- are they fruits? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/3 "2013-09-28T17:03:40Z")
Where do you live? How tall are the trees? What is the bark like? ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/4 "2013-09-28T17:22:39Z")
Sorry, they are in central Missouri. I am in Maine, and didn’t bring any home with me. They look more like fruit than nuts, kind of like small, slightly hairy olives. Pics of the whole trees, which are maybe 20’ tall right now and have a roundish shape: [https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1375323\_598461713530446\_1194453986\_n.jpg](https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1375323_598461713530446_1194453986_n.jpg) [https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1173714\_598460360197248\_1861640743\_n.jpg](https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1173714_598460360197248_1861640743_n.jpg) The leaves are just staring to turn red. ---
**Author:** ![sich\_hinaufwinden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@sich\_hinaufwinden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sich_hinaufwinden)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/5 "2013-09-28T17:37:15Z")
Bradford pear? > **[Pyrus calleryana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrus_calleryana)** > > Pyrus calleryana, or the Callery pear, is a species of pear tree native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae. It is most commonly known for its cultivar 'Bradford' and its offensive odor, widely planted throughout the United States and increasingly regarded as an invasive species. > Pyrus calleryana is deciduous, growing to 5 to 8 m (16 to 26 ft) tall, often with a conical to rounded crown. The leaves are oval, .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-p... ETA link to pic: [File:CalleryPearC.JPG - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CalleryPearC.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/6 "2013-09-28T17:40:51Z")
> [@sich\_hinaufwinden](#): > > Bradford pear? > > [Pyrus calleryana - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrus_calleryana) That looks right, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/7 "2013-09-28T20:59:51Z")
Expect your Bradford Pear trees to get big and gorgeous, showing great fall color, then to break asunder in a mild windstorm. 'Tis their way. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/8 "2013-09-28T22:00:02Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Expect your Bradford Pear trees to get big and gorgeous, showing great fall color, then to break asunder in a mild windstorm. 'Tis their way. Plus, the blooms stink. ---
**Author:** ![barnhardt999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@barnhardt999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barnhardt999)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/9 "2013-09-29T01:23:43Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Expect your Bradford Pear trees to get big and gorgeous, showing great fall color, then to break asunder in a mild windstorm. 'Tis their way. +1. Cut it down before hurts someone or damages something. I’ll not even mention the smell. I was almost banned from a gardening forum for describing exactly what it smelled like. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/10 "2013-09-29T13:09:30Z")
> [@barnhardt999](#): > > +1. Cut it down before hurts someone or damages something. I’ll not even mention the smell. I was almost banned from a gardening forum for describing exactly what it smelled like. There are about 15 of them lining a long driveway on 25 acres way out in the country. They aren’t going to hurt anyone or damage anything, but I’ll try to stay downwind. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/11 "2013-09-29T14:47:23Z")
There are [many varietals of flowering pear](http://www.urbanforestnursery.com/treeprofiles/profileflowerpear.html). The one known as “Bradford” is known to be especially fragile; other varietals are not fragile at all. My parents have a flowering pear out front of their house in brooklyn and it came through hurricane Sandy just fine (a 50+ year old sycamore maple was fully uprooted by the wind, taking out several cars and a second-story window). In my neighborhood, on a street lined with flowering pears, only one was damaged when a freak tornado touched down nearby. It snapped clean in half at the trunk. The rest were basically undamaged minus a few lost leaves. I think the Bradford varietal is quite common in the south, where it gives the whole breed a bad reputation. Here in NYC, the “flowering pear” is regarded as a virtually indestructible street tree. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Morris\_J.Alderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dr.Morris\_J.Alderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Morris_J.Alderman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-tree-is-this/669875/12 "2013-09-29T22:22:37Z")
In what state is your land located? The size of the leaves and the veining appear of tropical origin. The fruit, however, looks like crab apples. It’s difficult to judge the relative size of the leaves and the fruit…can you estimate the height of the average tree? Were they planted in an ornamental manner?