Podcast Script

To find an ornamental pear tree, begin at the door to Mr. Pevyhouse’s room. Walk six feet forward to the nearest tree; you have found an ornamental pear tree.
Hug the tree. Notice the diameter of the trunk, it is about a foot in diameter and almost as big as an ornamental pear trunk will get. The bark growing on the trunk will be a grayish white color with some shallow valleys running up and down the trunk. You may notice yellowish orange lichen growing on the bark, this does not mean that the tree is dying or sick; it is a very healthy ornamental pear.
Now that you know the tree, look up. It is probably about 20-30 feet tall, not quite full sized since ornamental pears have the potential to grow up to 45 feet tall. If you are looking up in February you will notice the branches covered in small leaves and vast amounts of white flowers. If you smell the flowers you will notice that they have a very... distinct... aroma. Although you may not appreciate the smell the animals that pollinate the flowers may be attracted to the smell.
If you are looking up into the branches during May or June you will notice small fruit resembling small pears. Although I can’t suggest that you eat them you might notice that there are birds eating the fruit off of the branches. When the birds digest the fruit the seeds pass through them and are distributed wherever the bird happens to drop them. This is a great strategy for spreading seeds.
If you reach up into the branches and grab a fruit it will be slightly soft if it is ripe. If it’s not it will be quite hard. When the fruit is broken open you will notice several small black seeds.
If you are looking up during the late summer or early fall you will see just leaves. They are roughly 6 cm long and are in the shape of a fat teardrop. They have a dark green top to maximize photosynthesis as well as a very thick layer of cutin that prevents water loss, which allows it to grow without a lot of rain to support it. The tree will photosynthesize all summer and into the fall storing up energy to go dormant during the winter and to grow back new leaves and blossoms in the spring. Before the leaves fall off they will turn a bright red.
If you look up into the branches during the winter you see nothing, to bad. You lose.
I cannot advise climbing an ornamental pear tree because the branches will support little more than their own weight once you get beyond the initial branches. This is problematic in places with large amounts of snow and Ice because branches fall of the tree. Luckily we live in Davis so there isn’t a problem.
Give the tree another hug. Love the tree.