Shipova


The Shipova is a hybrid of the European Pear and the Common Whitebeam. It is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 10–18 m tall, with deciduous oval leaves 7–11 cm long and 5–6 cm broad. The fruit is a pome 2.5–3 cm long; it is edible with a sweet, yellowish flesh, which tastes similar to a Nashi Pear.

History

The hybrid, known as the Bollwiller Pear, first arose at Bollwiller in Alsace, France, before 1612, and has mostly been propagated by grafting since then; it is nearly sterile, only rarely producing any viable seeds. Two successful seedling propagations have been named as the cultivar 'Bulbiformis' and as the species Pyrus malifolia. However, shipova trees are not widely cultivated. Shipova is the only known species in the nothogenus × Sorbopyrus

Similar hybrids

Other intergeneric hybrids within tribe Maleae that include Sorbus as one of the parents are:
The genus Sorbopyrus has also been known as Bollwilleria Zabel, and as Pyraria A.Chev..