Wild pear and plum tree

Wild pear tree ( Pyrus pyraster )

Wild plum tree ( Prunus spinosa )

Most fruit trees belong to the family of the Rosaceae, the family of the rose. In common with the wild roses, they have the attractive and fragile flowers, with four or five petals, and the often fleshy fruits. The fruit trees have been ' tamed' by men during the centuries and their wild relatives are often very dissimilar from the orchard samples. The wild pear and the wild plum trees exhibit sharp thorns along the branches and smaller and sourer fruits than those you can find at grocery stores.

 

Malaspina The family of Malaspina ruled many fiefs in a vasta area in North West Italy. Their name, meaning 'bad thorn', comes from the thorny plum branch, which appear also on their coat of arms (up center in the picture). This photograph was taken in the Malaspina castle of Fosdinovo, near Sarzana (La Spezia)