PLANT

The nashi o Japanese pear tree (scientific name Pyrus pyrifolia) is a fruit tree belonging to the family of Rosaceaewhose fruit is also commonly known as pear-apple o Asian pear. It originates from thefar eastwhere it has been cultivated for many centuries.

FRUIT

The nashi is a small, very slow-growing deciduous tree or shrub 4-5 m tall. The heart-shaped, elongated leaves are larger, leatherier and with a deeper toothed margin than those of the European pear tree. They turn an orangey-yellow colour in autumn. The flowers are white and also larger than those of Pyrus communis. Flowering takes place in April. The fruit, which has a long stalk, has a slightly flattened spherical shape (similar to an apple) and is botanically an apple. It has sweet and fragrant flesh with low or no acidity, compact, juicy and crisp, similar to that of apples but with a pear flavour (hence the misnomer 'pear-apple'). The skin is smooth or slightly rough, golden-brown to yellow-green in colour, varying from variety to variety. It may present a slight diffuse russeting. The harvest period varies between August and September.

CULTIVATION

Quite rustic and hardy tree, weather-tolerant and particularly cold in the winter months. It fears prolonged drought and requires watering if the soil becomes excessively dry during the growing season. Prefers land light, fertile, medium-textured or tending to sandy, with pH neutral (7) as it does not tolerate the lack of magnesium (washed out due to excess acidity), as well as clayey and chlorotic conditions due to limestone. 

CURIOSITIES

The nashi is native to temperate climate e subtropical of central China (where it is called "them"while the term 'nashi' is of origin Japanese and means 'pear'). In China, it was already cultivated and consumed around 3000 years ago: in the 1st century BC, at the time of the dynasty Han, there were in fact extensive cultivations of nashi along the banks of the Yellow River and the Huai River. It was introduced in Japan e Korea in ancient times and its presence is now part of the tradition and landscape of these countries.

In 19th century, during the gold rush, the nashi, later called the 'Asian pear', was introduced to America by Chinese miners, who began cultivating this species along the rivers of the Sierra Nevada (USA). In the late 1800s, its cultivation also began in Europe.

Interest on the part of producers and consumers, at first considerable after World War II, has gradually declined over the following decades, so much so that today it is considered a marginal crop and consumption in Italy is very limited. The nashi is currently listed among the forgotten, minor or ancient fruits of the Italian agricultural tradition.