# What tree is this?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 3, 2024, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767 "2024-04-03T03:16:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/1 "2024-04-03T03:16:52Z")
I live in Sacramento, California. In my area, there’s a tree that, while pretty, I dislike because I’m pretty sure it’s what sets off my seasonal allergies. I cannot identify it, but am hoping someone can. The linked photo was taken in Elk Grove, which is adjacent to Sacramento (functionally, the two are part of one big urban conglomerate). Sorry about picture quality, I was using my phone camera.
[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/seanette/53628952604/)
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### Author:  [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/2 "2024-04-03T03:23:17Z")
Evergreen Pear?
> **[A flowering Evergreen Pear Tree (Pyrus kawakami) tells us spring is near](http://www.marriedtoplants.com/flowering-plants/flowering-evergreen-pear-tree-pyrus-kawakami-tells-us-spring-near/)**
Edit: maybe not. The shape of the mature tree in your pic is different.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/3 "2024-04-03T03:24:12Z")
I did an image search and the top results say that’s a [Callery Pear or Bradford Pear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrus_calleryana).
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### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/4 "2024-04-03T03:26:23Z")
Please allow for the picture being taken aiming upward from the sidewalk. Did have to stay out of the traffic lanes in a busy parking lot. 🙂
The shapes in the article you linked look like ones I’ve seen around town. I have never seen fruit on these trees, though.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/5 "2024-04-03T03:30:16Z")
The dreaded semen tree of the Sacramento area.
I’m serious here. Read the wiki page **Monty** linked to if you don’t believe me. You can smell the trees before you see them (if they’re flowering).
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### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/6 "2024-04-03T03:30:54Z")
I’ve never noticed any particular smell from these, and I was pretty close to the one I took the picture of.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/7 "2024-04-03T03:35:30Z")
It does seem to be variable, but UC Davis absolutely reeked of them at times, and there’s one at my complex that’s about as bad (but there’s just one, thankfully). They seem to be worse earlier in the season.
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### Author:  [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/8 "2024-04-03T03:45:53Z")
We have one in our front yard (east of Sac). AFAIK it’s called a faux pear or ornamental pear/callery pear. And yes, it smells, more like shrimp than, uh, bodily fluids. It’s humming with bee activity right now, and later it will have mini fruits for the birds.
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### Author:  [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/9 "2024-04-03T04:44:12Z")
Another vote for Bradford pear. Common street tree in the Sacramento area. They were always the first trees to bloom every spring around McKinley Park.
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### Author:  [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/10 "2024-04-03T05:18:41Z")
Or, as it’s referred to in arborist circles, “the dreaded Bradford pear.” I recently saw a post asking for advice on how to prune a Bradford pear, and the arborist replied, “Hold your chainsaw perpendicular to the trunk about six inches off the ground…”
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/11 "2024-04-03T08:39:49Z")
IIRC, one doesn’t really get to see the fruits on those trees. And, yeah, as **Dr.Stranagelove** mentioned, they stink to high heaven.
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### Author:  [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/12 "2024-04-03T09:51:01Z")
These fuckers (either Callery or Bradford Pear) were planted with gusto by homeowners and landscapers about 20-30 years ago. They are fast-growing and beautiful for about 3 weeks in spring. But they proliferate rapidly, and now they’re all over the damn place, and local nurseries no longer sell them.
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### Author:  [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/13 "2024-04-03T10:47:41Z")
When our house was built about 25 years ago, SMUD (the electric utility for the Sacramento area) was giving away baby shade trees to owners of new homes, with instructions to plant them on south and west facing sides of homes. The idea is that these fast growing trees would shade and cool the house soon enough, lowering energy (AC) bills during our hot summers. I think these pear trees were one of their give away shade trees, along with stuff like Chinese pistache (we also have two of).
[Free shade tree program](https://www.smud.org/en/Going-Green/Free-Shade-Trees). Looks like the pear is no longer part of this program. In addition to feral growth and the stinky, the little fruits are a bit messy. I can see why the tree is now avoided, even with the decent shade and once-a-year showy flowers.
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### Author:  [@Deanna\_D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deanna_D)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/14 "2024-04-03T11:47:03Z")
South Carolina has gotten serious about eliminating the Bradford pear from our state. They’re banned from being planted or sold here. There’s a bounty on them as well. If you cut one down from your yard, the forestry commission will give you a native tree to replace it.
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### Author:  [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/15 "2024-04-03T14:15:57Z")
> [@Deanna\_D](#):
>
> South Carolina has gotten serious about eliminating the Bradford pear from our state. They’re banned from being planted or sold here.
I just learned that Kansas has done the same thing, although it doesn’t take effect until 2027. Meantime, for the first time, there will be buyback programs, just as you described. Take a picture of your cut-down tree, take the picture to one of these events, receive a free tree.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tree-is-this/999767/16 "2024-04-03T18:04:49Z")
This is a favorite tree of developers because they grow fast and look pretty for a bit, but they’re invasive and don’t live very long, so it ends up punting the problem to others.
I’ll wager it is indeed the cause of your allergies, it’s a common complaint. Thankfully it only lasts a short while. I haven’t smelled them yet but I’ll walk by one shortly and am prepared to hold my nose in the next few days.