The author of the text is Dr. Katarzyna Król-Dyrek
Mountain ash Sorbopyrus x auricularis belongs to the rosacea family Rosaceae. This species was created as a result of a spontaneous, natural crossing of the common pear and flour rowan.This is a very interesting botanical phenomenon, because in nature such distant species rarely and very difficult to interbreed.
The plant was discovered in 1955 in manor gardens in France, in Alsace. Since then, the mountain ash is vegetatively multiplied. It was called a red pear and was planted in parks and gardens as a natural curiosity.
The tree resembles a pear tree, it grows strongly, reaching 6 to 15 m in height.In addition to the shape of the fruit, the plant inherited many features from the pear tree: shoots, pointed buds or single, large, oval, rounded leaves (not composed of small leaves like rowanThe moss on the underside of the leaves refers to the ancestor, the rowan.
It blooms in May, white flowers 2-2.5 cm in diameter are gathered in corymbose composed of 5 flowers.Fruits (about 4.5 cm in diameter, and in the cultivar 'Bulbiformis '5 cm) resemble small, flattened pears, slightly ribbed, set on long stalks.
The flesh of the fruit is yellowish, coarse, aromatic, juicy and sweet, tasty. The peel of the fruit is thick with numerous lenticels, orange-yellow with a red blush.The fruits ripen at the turn of September and October and stay on the branches for a long time. The sweetness and taste of fruit also attract wasps, so it is worth picking the fruit immediately after coloring and ripening.
Jarzębinogrusza does not have excessive soil requirements, but it will also not grow on wastelands.Light, humus soils are optimal for it.This species is frost-resistant, so it can grow in all parts of the country. However, it requires annual thinning of the shoots and overexposure of the crown to achieve good fruit.Rowanberries are suitable for various preserves, compotes, pickles in vinegar or tinctures.
