NHD54/28

Chinese Pear

Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm.f.) Nakai; Rosaceae family

Original inscriptions: 沙梨 (front lower left in ink); 三月開 (reverse lower left in ink); Sha-li- (reverse lower right in pencil)

Further inscriptions: H. Sh. (front lower left in ink)

Flowering branch of a Chinese pear plant. Thick, light brown, woody nodose branch, widely branching out laterally. Sparsely leaved, opposite or cluster of green elliptic leaves, with entire margins and alternate veins. One leaf depicted deteriorating, with brown edge. Sets of two to three flowers at the apex of each secondary twigs, stemming from the nodes of the leaves. Each flower has a long, light green pedicel, with several sepals, and five lobed, white petals. A circular crown of white stamens with orange anthers on each flower. Lower left: horizontally dissected fruit berry, showing internal arrangement of seeds; five seeds tightly clustered at the very middle of the fruit, brown, elongated, one pointy end. Fruit skin brown with darker irregular marks, thin; light brown pedicel. Lower right: dissected view of the flower, including five small and thin stamens, the pedicel with light green sepals, and five oblong, white petals.

Any further details: White paint partly oxidised. The same plant is depicted in a different format in NHD56/6.