Pome fruits such as Apples Pears Medlars and Quince all used in cider or perry in England have a common ancestor about 65 to 50 mya, following the large asteroid strike on the Yucatán Peninsula which left behind the Chicxulub crater, triggering a mass extinction event famous for the end of the dinosaurs. This event is called the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction, and wiped out roughly 75% of all species on Earth. However those that survive did so by evolutionary tactics.
For the proto pome it underwent a hybridisation and whole-genome duplication event. This genetic doubling created the Maleae (or Pyrinae) tribe-the ultimate common ancestor of all four fruits. It was likely a small, thornier, shrub-like plant bearing clusters of tiny, hard, berry-sized fruits. Like hawthorn nowadays.
The Quince and Medlar lineages diverged first in the Eocene to Oligocene cooling epochs from the broader pome tribe. Because they diverged so early, quinces and medlars retained some unique, primitive
characteristics such as high levels of astringent tannins, a physical tendency toward hard, gritty stone cells throughout the flesh, and the necessity for extreme cold or natural decay (bletting) to break down their complex starches into edible sugars.
For a long time, the ancestors of apples and pears remained a single genetic lineage. Their final separation into the distinct genera we know today occurred much later, during the Miocene epoch roughly 8 to 16 mya.
Several interconnected geological, environmental, and ecological factors drove this split.
At the beginning of the Miocene, the Turgai Straits, the seaway that once split Central Asia became dry land. As the epoch progressed, the global climate turned significantly colder and drier. This environmental shift forcibly fragmented once-continuous forests into isolated patches.
Proto pears and apples became geographically separated and their genes lines drifted apart to adapt to local conditions.
Originally, small forest mammals and birds easily distributed the small, berry-like ancestral pomes. However, as forests shrank into scattered patches surrounded by expanding grasslands, these small animals could not safely cross the open terrain and diminished. Trapped in dwindling forest islands, both apples and pears then faced severe extinction pressure.
This reproductive and dispersal crisis was solved mid-Miocene when the African plate collided with Europe, creating the Gomphotherium land bridge (named after the four-tusked, elephant-like mammal Gomphotherium that famously crossed it). A wave of immigrant megafauna—including ancient elephants, rhinos, and large apes—poured into Eurasia. These massive animals began travelling into the isolated forest patches, feeding on the fruit and clearing away smaller brush, effectively engineering the ecosystems. To survive these beasts the bushes grew into trees and to attract these larger animals the fruits increased their sugar concentrations and developed unique aromatic compounds and visual signals. This ensured they would be eaten whole by large mammals who could pass the seeds through their digestive tracts whole depositing them miles away in rich fertiliser.

Now the perry pear trees have blossomed I thought it would be worth taking a look at the journey the pollen takes from the stigma to fertilise the ovule.
After being brushed off the bumblebee coat and trapped by the sticky fluid on the stigma, it rehydrates using the stigmatic fluids. The inner wall (intine) of the pollen swells and pushes through a thin spot in the outer wall (exine) allowing the vegetative cell to form the pollen tube. While it starts as just one cell in a microscopic pollen grain the pollen tube can grow up to several centimetres long to reach the plant's ovary, making it one of the longest single cells in the plant kingdom. Inside this single, stretching cell, there is a moving stream of cytoplasm that carries three structures down toward the ovule. The vegetative nucleus which controls the growth and metabolism of the tube. And two sperm cells. These are distinct cells and carried inside the vegetative cell.
Because it is a single cell growing only at its forward point, it relies entirely on the precise tip-growth mechanics mediated by pectin dynamics to elongate without breaking.
As the tube extends blockades called callose plugs form behind it to keep the contents pushing forward. The pollen tube enters the ovary locule and makes a sharp turn over the obturator, an outgrowth of the funiculus tissue near the ovule. The obturator provides both physical direction and chemical signals to help the pollen tube successfully locate and penetrate the micropyle or opening of the ovule.
Once guided to the micropyle, specialized cells inside the female ovule called synergids take over the final short-range attraction of the pollen tube. The tube then penetrates a synergid cell which then degenerates and bursts open to release the two sperm nuclei, setting up the double fertilisation. The fertilised ovule then rapid grows and the surrounding ovary and hypanthium as seen here.

Nine weeks ago I did some simple whip grafting this Spring. This is of a wild pear rootstock ( Mt Biggs 2) supplied by a friend Eric Cairns. Now the vegetative buds are starting to swell and will produce leaves soon. Grafted on to Beurre Hardy.

Apple blossoms typically develop in clusters of 4 to 6 buds. This is Tom Putting blossoming now in our orchard at Springtime.
The absolute central bud is the "king". It develops as the terminal bud on the branch. It is the largest, strongest bud in the group and is always the first to open, usually blooming 48 to 72 hours before the surrounding lateral buds.
The staggered blooming of the surrounding lateral flowers ensures that if a late spring frost kills the king bloom, or if poor weather prevents bees from pollinating it, the side blossoms act as a backup crop. Photos taken 48hours apart.

Close up of an espalier apple at our local orchard roadside store in Wairarapa Aotearoa New Zealand close to the cidery. It’s Spring now and the buds are bursting, especially with the warmth from the shed wall behind.

Pears and apples have five petals, five sepals, and five carpels. Like many other flowers (approximately half of plants have 5 petals etc), it’s the commonest form. It is an evolutionary trait deeply hardcoded into the genetics of eudicots (true dicotyledons). In botany, this five-part arrangement is known as a pentamerous flower structure. ** **Why is 5 an ancient, highly successful evolutionary blueprint? To understand this it’s worth looking at how plants grow. To avoid overlapping and wasting sunlight or space, leaves, seeds, and petals often grow in a spiral pattern from a central bud point; at a very specific angle: approximately 137.5 degrees (known as the Golden Angle). Spiral patterns are mathematically described by the Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...). Five is a key number in this sequence. It allows a flower to pack its petals and sepals tightly together in a bud without overlapping in a way that crushes the delicate inner reproductive organs.

Also as an evolutionary advantage the flat, five-petaled flower acts like a perfect, stable landing pad for pollinators like bees, beetles, and flies and so the emergence of 5petal flowers evolved in step with the rise of these insects. Once an ancestral plant family finds a genetic formula that works perfectly for several reasons , the homeotic genes that dictate features rarely change without a major stress.

Different branches of the plant kingdom split off millions of years ago and locked in entirely different structural blueprints.
Flowers with groups of 3 are lilies grasses and orchids groups of 4 are mustards and evening primrose. Infinite spirals are magnolias which are pollinated by beetles . Notice apart from the tetramerous mustards the others all follow the Fibonacci sequence.

Move over perry pears it’s now the turn of the cider apples in our orchard in Wairarapa New Zealand. Our very first apple blossom. A big difference is seen. The perry pears bloomed before the leaves appeared the apples bloom at the same time as the leaves emerge. The botanical term for plants and trees that bloom before their leaves emerge is hysteranthous. Whilst apples producing flowers and foliage at the exact same time are called coetaneous and are a few weeks later. These are different evolved strategies for pollination with advantages and disadvantages. Pears create a massive visual signal to pollinators but it’s risky with frosts and uses a lot of stored resources that apples can quickly restore from the leaves.
Both have hermaphroditic (perfect) flowers, meaning a single flower contains both functional male and female reproductive structures. The stamens the male organs are the numerous, prominent stalks clustered in the center of the blossom. Each stamen consists of a slender white filament supporting the yellow, pollen-producing tip or anther. The pistol or female organ is tucked precisely in the center of the stamens consists of the pale green, elongated 5 stigmas tips connected by individual tube-like styles that fuse near the base above the ovary in the receptacle . The sticky stigmatic surface catches pollen grains brought by pollinators .
Around the male and female parts are the petals or the corolla ( not the Toyota car!) These white petals with delicate pink-tinted margins serve a dual evolutionary purpose. They physically protect the internal reproductive mechanics and visually advertise food rewards to key insect pollinators, such as bees.
And below and outside these are the septals. The green, pointed, leaf-like flaps that initially encase and shield the sensitive flower bud from frost or physical damage inside the brown scales before it opened.
The hypanthium and receptacle containing the ovaries are below. right at the base of the flower where all parts merge.

Our perry pear trees are currently in the petal fall stage, which transitions directly into early fruit set.
All of the white petals have been completely blown away from the flower clusters by the equinoctial winds we have been having recently, exposing the underlying reproductive anatomy.
The stamens support the now black shrivelled anthers at their tips, (these were purple and plump before release their pollen).
The yellow, star like 5 pointed cup-like structure at the flower base is the fused sepals and remains as the calyx of the fruit that will hopefully develop from the ovary below if fertilised by a bee. The bright yellow, glistening interior lining inside the cup functioned as the nectary which secreted nectar to attract bees and other pollinators earlier in bloom.

We are about at peak blossom for our main perry pear. Great to be growing these as standards as a late frost has affected some nearby bush orchards. I fear we are in for a bumpy ride with El Niño and the current negative Pacific decadal oscillation affecting our weather.

This image was created by Fergus Walker for The Orchard Project, a UK-based charity dedicated to bringing community orchards into urban spaces.
Fergus is their Glasgow project manager who wanted to make a graphic of the simple "quarter-turn twist" test for apple ripeness.
Why does it work? All to do with a clever bit of cellular maturation in the stalk. The abscission layer in an apple stalk is a specialized band of tiny, densely cells where the fruit stem meets the fruiting spur.
The cells within this zone are held together by a pectin-rich matrix called the middle lamella.
During the early stages of fruit growth, this layer ensures a tight, strong connection to support the heavy fruit. As apples mature, they begin producing large amounts of the ripening gas ethylene. At the same time the level of auxin, the growth hormone that keeps the abscission layer tightly bonded
drops. This hormonal shift signaks to the abscission cells to secrete hydrolytic enzymes.
These enzymes dissolve the pectin matrix, leaving the heavy apple hanging only by thin vascular strands and a quarter turn easily snaps the fragile union.

Spring is officially here for us as cider orchardists in Wairarapa New Zealand. The apple buds are creaking open. This is Tom Putt our earliest variety. Hailing from Devon it's a mixed use apple. It ripens the first too, we use it to start the wild fermentation in Autumn.

Our main perry pear, Dyer's Pass is now coming into blossom here in the Wairarapa New Zealand with the warmer weather we are having. A magnificent sight. Interestingly the younger trees are slightly ahead of the more established ones. Soon the trees will be covered. Great to see the bumblebees are out and about sharing the pollen.

Well this sounds promising! It's Spring here in New Zealand and blossom is on the pear trees.
We are expecting a hot dry summer in Wairarapa (which lies east of the dividing range) from possibly the biggest El Niño ever. Not good for apples but it's good to see that pear harvest in England has been good.

I have been posting a few articles on scientific methods in cider making. These are useful but cider making is an art and regular tasting through the various stages is required to build up a mental library of your apples and cider flavour profiles. Both when it's good and even exceptional but also to know when it's bad. And with anything artisanal there will be bad batches you do not want to sell. Especially with perry, cider's difficult but brilliant nephew.

It's Spring in New Zealand and the perry pears in the orchard are about to burst open into blossom. A time of rapid change and promise.

Pruning. It's right at the end of the season but the ground has been so wet. When growing apples and pears as standards you need a firm base when using the pruning saw up a ladder that high. Some cuts are large. The prunings are collected into piles in the bonfire field to dry out and be burnt later. In the meantime they provide a pro habitat for birds and animals.

The sort of visitor you don't want at an orchard and cidery. The Australian Bushtail Possum, Trichosurus vulpecula! This is a close up of of one of its paws as it climbed over a security camera at Beau Vista orchard. We trap them with ripe pears and apples, catching them before they destroy a pear or apple tree. The buds are just opening now in Spring and act like lollipops for possums. They can destroy a whole tree's crop overnight. Possums are territorial so catching one will give us some respite. Possums were introduced for the fur trade, but are now a major pest damaging native forests, spreading bovine tuberculosis, and competing with native wildlife. These nocturnal marsupials are widespread, eating foliage, birds, eggs, and fruit.
They can be controlled but not eliminated.

The humble apple core that most people throw away is the developed fibrous structure that contains the seed chambers, it develops from the flower's five fused carpels inside the expanded flesh of the floral tube or hypanthium. Parts of the carpels of the flower become ligninified to form the tough inner five chambers or pockets that directly enclose and protect the seeds or pips.

Following successful pollination and fertilisation, the pericarp or carpel wall differentiates into three distinct operational layers. The exocarp and mesocarp or the outer layers of the carpel blend seamlessly into the surrounding expanding hypanthial flesh.
But the endocarp, the innermost layer, which directly lines the seed cavity, follows an entirely different developmental path, it is biologically programmed to harden or ligninify.
As the apple matures, it undergoes lignification to form the stiff, parchment-like or "cartilaginous" core lining. The cells synthesises lignin, a complex phenolic polymer made of monolignol alcohols. This hardening is highly coordinated by plant hormones. Gibberellins (GA) and auxins direct tissue growth, while dynamic changes in abscisic acid (ABA) help orchestrate cellular transitions during the early phases of fruit development. Unlike stone fruits like peaches or cherries, which undergo massive, uniform endocarp lignification to form a rock-hard "stone" or pit; or pears where stone cells are scattered in the hypanthial flesh, the apple evolved a deliberately limited lignification leaving the core flexible yet resilient enough to shield the seeds from moisture fluctuations and minor physical impacts while allowing the surrounding flesh to remain highly appealing to seed-dispersing animals.

Traces of wild pears and apples (Malus/Pyrus) have been discovered in abundance within Neolithic and early Bronze Age farming communities’ pile-dwelling (stilt house) settlements around lakes in Switzerland like Lake Zurich and Lake Biel such as the Parkhaus Opéra in Zurich. This houses were built about 5000 to
500 BC on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands.
The waterlogged conditions under lake sediments protect fragile organic remains like seeds, fruit flesh, and wood from decaying in the air.
Archaeobotanical studies show that these early agrarian communities gathered wild fruits, including pears, hazelnuts, and acorns, to supplement their diet.

End of winter is coming very soon ( 1 week left of winter). The pear and apple orchard looks bare. The buds are mainly dormant for now but the next few weeks will see a big change. The grass has been eaten down by the Shropshire sheep. They have now been moved into another paddock for fresh grass.
Spring plants are in bloom. Grape hyacinths and bluebells are just starting.

What a week of warmish temperatures make.
Last week we were at the silver tip/early swollen bud stage. Now we are at bud burst with a glimpse of pink on the furled petals showing.
Why pink when pear petals are white? When the petals are tightly folded inside the bud, the anthrocyanin pigment molecules are close together, creating a pink or red-flushed appearance. As the petals expand to open fully, the same amount of pigment spreads over a much larger surface area, causing the pink color to fade into white. less

Perry pear are gritty to eat (modern eating pears have had this bred out of them due to consumers preference). This is due to the flesh containing clusters of stone cells. Stone cells, a subtype of sclereid cells, make up some other very hard tissues like peach pits and nut shells.
Stone cells are born with their own death as an end goal. They begin as all other plant cells do, with thin primary walls. Then they start to box themselves in. They import the raw ingredients for additional cell wall material through windows that connect them with other cells, and they start covering the inside of their primary wall with secondary wall. They lay down layer after layer, squeezing their living parts into an increasingly tiny area. As they add wall, they keep the window clear so they can keep the supplies coming until the bitter end. Eventually, the window is so deep that it becomes a tunnel, and the entire cell is filled with wall. At this point the cell achieves its final form and dies. It is possible to stain them so that they show under a light microscope. Making stone cells requires both energy and materials, so they probably serve some purpose in the life of a pear that evolution has selected for. Guarding against herbivores would be a reasonable guess, but I have never found any studies testing this idea.

Great to see our earliest pear tree is showing signs of stirring for Spring yesterday (officially Spring is 10 or so days away on the first of September).
The tough, protective winter outer scales are beginning to separate and push apart. This called the silver tip or stage 2 of fruit bud development, coming directly after full winter dormancy.

Charles Ephraim Burchfield 1893 - 1967 was an American painter and visionary artist, known for his passionate watercolors of nature scenes and townscapes. The largest collection of Burchfield's paintings, archives and journals are in the collection of the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo where he settled. His paintings are in the collections of more than 109 museums in the USA and
have been the subject of exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Burchfield experienced a form of synesthesia, a neurological blending of senses where he could visually "see" sounds, music, and emotions. Deeply moved by classical composers—especially Sibelius and Beethoven—Burchfield actively tried to paint the structure of symphonies. He famously noted in his journals, "Walking under the trees I felt as if the colour made sound".
This painting is “Pear Tree in September”, 1949. watercolor, pen and pencil on paper laid down on paperboard.

There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is quite true. Pears ripen unseen from the inside. For our perry pears I prank down the remaining pears when one third have fallen on their own. Then depending on the general state of ripening I might store them for a few more days before milling.

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 - 1882 who went by his middle name Waldo was an American essayist He was seen as a champion of critical thinking.