Flora of Israel: Syrian Pear

Pyrus syriaca, Syrian Pear,
Hebrew: אגס סורי, Arabic: الأجاص السوري

Scientific name:   Pyrus syriaca Boiss.
Common name:   Syrian Pear
Hebrew name:   אגס סורי
Arabic name:   الأجاص السوري
Family:   Rosaceae, ורדיים


Life form:   Tree
Spinescence:   Stems
Leaves:   Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   White
Flowering Period:   March, April
Habitat:   Mediterranean maquis and forest
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Perennating


Derivation of the botanical name:

Pyrus syriaca, Latin name of the pear.

syriaca, Syrian.
The Hebrew name: אגס, agas (Post Biblical Hebrew) pear. [Together with Arabic ‘ijjas, ‘ijjds, ‘injas, ‘injas (= plum), of unknown origin.]

  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.