Pyrus oxyprion

Pyrus oxyprion is a deciduous shrub or small tree, typically 3–5 m tall, with an irregular, often spreading crown. Older branches are grey‑brown and armed with stout spines; young branchlets are dark brown and densely leafy. Buds are broadly ovoid, about 5 by 4 mm, and covered in a dense, short woolly hair (tomentum). Leaves are narrow, shaped from oblanceolate to long‑elliptic (broadest above the middle), 3–8 by 0.7–2.0 cm; they have an acute tip and taper gradually to the base, with irregularly sharp teeth along the margin. The upper surface of the leaf is smooth and glossy, while the lower surface bears scattered hairs that soon wear away. Flower clusters (corymbs) comprise 7–12 white, five‑petalled flowers, each about 2 cm across; individual flowers have a short stalk (pedicel) 2.0–2.5 cm long, and a cup‑shaped hypanthium densely covered in hairs. There are typically five styles and 15–21 stamens arranged in two rings. Fruit is a subpyriform (somewhat pear‑shaped) pome about 3 cm in diameter, green‑yellow when ripe, with numerous gritty cells and persistent sepals appressed to its surface.

This species occurs on dry, rocky slopes and open thickets in montane areas of Armenia, north‑eastern Turkey and north‑western Iran, from about 600 m up to 1700 m above sea level. It often grows with other scrub species and under light woodland cover, favouring well‑drained soils and full sun. The IUCN Red List suggests that it is endemic to Turkey; however, the species is listed as present in Georgia, Armenia, Nakhchivan, and Kermanshah Province, Iran.