Flowering Pear Trees were put on the “Do not Sell”, Invasive Species List for the Ohio Department of Agriculture last January of 2023. The problem is the fruit!
When Callery Pear was sold in the United States in the 1900’s, many nurseries claimed they were sterile and would not produce fruit.
Joe Boggs wrote a great BYGL article in 2020, titled “Callery Pear: the Jekyll and Hyde Tree” that explains the evolution of the flowering pear:
https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1476
Callery pears are native to Asia. The species is named for a French missionary, Joseph Callery, who first collected the tree in 1858.
As the song the 12 Days of Christmas goes, “A partridge in a pear tree”.
Now the questions are “Was it nesting?” “Was it feeding?” or was it doing both.
Back then, I assume Pear Trees were not on any invasive species list.
Most pictures show a partridge sitting in a tree.
The problem is the fruit. Another article by Joe Boggs this fall was about birds eating fruit:
https://bygl.osu.edu/index.php/node/2286
European Starlings feeding on Callery Pears helps to spread seed of this invasive plant.
So back the partridge. This bird is native to parts of Europe, Asia and Africa as was introduced to the United States as a medium sized game bird. But since game birds tend to be ground nesters, the Christmas nest in my tree got it wrong.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partridge
But fast forward to January of 2023, Flowering Pears can no longer be sold in Ohio.
The Ball Drops on Callery Pear in 2023!