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Bradford pear trees banned in few states – More are looking to eradicate them
- brightball 3y agoI'm in one of the states that banned them and I used to have 2 in my back yard. Never really understood the fuss.
- sarchertech 3y agoThey’re invasive, they outcompete native trees, and they have many negative attributes. The wild descendants are particularly bad because they have thorns and grow in dense hard to remove thickets.
- marcus0x62 3y agoThey are also terribly brittle. Every single time there is a storm in my neighborhood, at least one person has a massive Bradford Pear split in half in their front yard (if we're lucky - if not, it's out in the road.) Builders plant them because they grow quickly, and, of course, they don't have to deal with the problems a few years down the road. Bradford's also smell really bad.
- Tylast 3y agoI had 3 in my yard. I never thought twice about them until one split down the middle & destroyed my carport 3 years ago. I cut the rest of that one down & the one next to it that could fall on my house. A neighbor had one split last summer & blocked the road. The wood from these trees are dense and heavy. I never walk under them anymore due to how quickly they just fall down.
- happytiger 3y agoBeyond the invasive mess they are making, there’s this: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/23agnj/til_the_common_bradford_pear_tree_is_also_known/ https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/23agnj/til_t...
- joe_guy 3y ago> it's contributing to the spread of related invasive trees that are taking over some urban green spaces and pastureland and encroaching on forests. I'll save you from the auto playing view port locker video.
- Terr_ 3y agoA few more key points: * At first the species being planted everywhere was considered sterile, but somehow cross-pollination with related varieties can make them produce viable fruit, then animals spread the seeds. * The fruit is not edible to humans. * Some varieties have nasty thorns on them, able to pop vehicle tires, and over time grow together into thickets.
- pvaldes 3y ago> The fruit is not edible to humans. This is a feature, not a bug
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- fervor 3y agoThey smell
- riffic 3y agoblackcurrants were banned too (by federal united states gov) for some sort of complicated reason
- bigbillheck 3y agoIt's a host for white pine blister rust.
- chucksta 3y agoman that's complicated
- bigbillheck 3y agoSure is! https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/fungalbasidio/pdlessons/Pages/WhitePine.aspx https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/fungalbasidio/pdl... > The white pine blister rust pathogen is a typical heteroecious, macrocyclic rust that produces five distinct spore stages on two different hosts to complete its life cycle. The pycnial stage consists of pycniospores, or spermatia, which are haploid spores that fertilize compatible receptive hyphae. The two sexes are not distinguishable and are simply designated plus and minus. This is the stage where genetic recombination can occur that may lead to development of races of the rust. However, the nuclear cycle (i.e., dikaryogamy, diploidization, meiosis) of the blister rust fungus has not been fully determined, but is assumed to be the same as for other better known rust fungi such as Puccinia graminis. The aecial stage develops in host tissue occupied by pycnia the previous season (Figure 6). The fungus is perennial in the pine host and aeciospores are produced annually as long as the host tissues remain alive. Aeciospores are disseminated by wind over long distances, and Ribes spp. as far as 480 km (300 miles) from the nearest known white pines have been infected.
- kybishop 3y agoTo expand on this, many states have a large white pine lumber industry. The white pine is highly susceptible to a type of fungus harbored by currants. The fungus does not spread from white pine to white pine, only from currants to currant, or currant to white pine, so eliminating the nearby currants protects the white pine industry.
- beezle 3y agoWas on HOA board where we had a road with quite a few of these trees. They were a fortune to prune because of the numerous small branches at higher reaches. As a board, we actually hoped they would come down in storms so we could replace with something more appropriate without the take down cost (and resident complaints). Another unqiue thing is during the summer it was not uncommon for a branch to suddenly explode - apparently some type of moisture/vapor build up in the interior.
- cafard 3y agoWhere was this? In Maryland they would break, a lot, but I never heard of them exploding. I don't think the people in our development loved them. Certainly I had seen a few too many across somebody's lawn or walk.
- beezle 3y agoSouthern CT near the sound. Yes it would happen with some of the wide, low branches. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like popcorn, maybe once every other year.
- flutas 3y agoThey also smell like someone took a rotting fish, dunked it in sewage and decided to roast it in the sun for a few days. They're everywhere where I live, and it's so bad.
- QuercusMax 3y agoWe had one in front of our house at one point, and the first year it bloomed we thought there was a dead animal under the house. Some people say they smell like bleach and/or semen as well. I'd rather have Durian than Bradford pear.
- dvirsky 3y agoThese are the same trees known as Cum Trees, right? My neighbors have a couple, I didn't know these before moving to the US, and the first time I smelled them was... something.
- GenerWork 3y agoI love reading about this kind of stuff. My neighbor has a bunch of Brazilian pepper trees, and let me tell you, those things are a nightmare. Incredibly invasive, grows extremely well in our climate, no natural predators here, and they outcompete almost every other tree. I cut a branch from one that was deforming a palm tree due to the way the branch had grown.
- hollywood_court 3y agoThis is good news. In my area the only thing worse than Bradford pears are the Mimosas. It took me ~3 years of consistent work to clear off the Mimosas from our 1 acre lot in town. And I still have to spray or hand pull hundreds of the tiny ones each season because none of my neighbors have been as diligent.
- stass 3y agoWhat's wrong with Mimosas? They smell so nice in spring!
- hammock 3y agoThey are invasive, take hold and hard to eradicate/control, the flowers make a mess, and they are easily damaged in storms
- pvaldes 2y agoTheir invasive dark side is directly triggered by fire.
- astura 3y agoThey are invasive (in the US) and grow like weeds completely taking over and crowding out native species. Having many of them screws up the nitrogen level of the soil further crowding out/killing native plants. This alters the ecosystem.
- sarchertech 3y agoIn addition to what everyone else said, they are nitrogen fixing, so their leaf litter creates too much nitrogen for most native plants to grow.
- hollywood_court 3y agoOther commenters have covered most of the reasons why they are awful, but my main complaint is that they will completely take over your garden beds and wooded areas if left undisturbed.
- hammock 3y agoImportant note: There are now hybrid species that don't have the same downsides as the original true Bradford pear. Most of what are planted now are these hybrids.
- datavirtue 3y agoI think those are what I have in my yard as I was not seeing any issues with them. No weird smell, shoots, or lifespan problems.
- TheHypnotist 3y agoRight. Mine was planted almost 40 years ago by the previous owner and does not smell or produce fruit.
- pkaye 3y agoWhen we bought our house we had 3 city trees which were Bradford pear trees. We lots two of them during rainy season. One lost a major branch. The other got uprooted. I've read Bradford tree I'm in California. Our city doesn't allow Bradford pear trees anymore. When we bought our hour we had three Bradford pear trees. Over time we lost two of them during rainy seasons. One got uprooted and the other broke off a major branch. Both times it was fortunate that nobody was injured or property got damaged. Ended up replacing them all.
- tycho-newman 3y agoI thought these were linden trees this whole time.
- bagels 3y agoThey need a better name that conveys their vile nature. I love pears. Why are people so upset about a pear tree I initially thought?
- aendruk 3y agoI really wish submissions could be tagged to warn about auto-playing video.
- autokad 3y agoThis answers a lot for me, I always wanted why they planted this tree everywhere when it smells so awful.
- skeledrew 3y agoAh, typical. Nature taking its course and, once again, humans decide they know what's better and is going in to "correct" things. Then a few years in there's the cry about the disruption that was caused, and yet even more attempts at rectification. A never-ending cycle, because we can't learn to be hands off. Well I guess the cycle will eventually end given things are always somewhat worse with every swing of the correction pendulum, so at some point it'll all just... crash.
- bungeonsBaggins 3y agoI don't mean to blow your mind, but humans are a part of nature. One advantage we have over other species is that we can spot patterns and work collectively to fix undesirable situations or circumstances. And if our fix causes further problems, we can fix those too! We're flawed creatures so it's not ideal, but it sure beats being at the mercy of the forces nature uses to correct things on its own, like diseases and famine.
- bcatanzaro 3y agoYes! Is a beaver dam artificial or natural? I believe everything humans do is part of nature.
- lo_zamoyski 3y agoI would submit that the very idea of "nature", as used informally, is ill-defined and frankly incoherent, and should not be used, or at least should only be used loosely within specific contexts where it does make sense (a healthy ecosystem in which human beings also thrive, which is no doubt a range), like "I love taking walks in nature". What is natural under this definition? If water from a stream natural, but is water synthesized from hydrogen and oxygen unnatural? The only sensible definition I know of of "natural" is "according to the nature of a thing". Thus, human beings have a nature, and that nature is what determines what is good or bad for us. Arsenic isn't poisonous as such, but it is poisonous to us by virtue of our nature. We are rational animals by nature. And so, unnatural are things which depart from that nature, like the desire to eat glass or having a sexual interest in oak trees and so on. It is the nature of a thing that is the reference point that allows pathologies to be defined. By nature, we should have two arms, hence to lose or lack an arm is a defect. Similarly, psychological disorders only make sense with reference to the normative, which is defined by human nature. To say "everything is natural" renders the word meaningless, annihilating all justifiable and objectively normative statements, which is absurd. If everything is "natural", then nothing is unnatural, because natural is simply identical with everything.
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y agoThe company that I worked for, had a row of these across the primo parking spaces. During the fall months, these parking spaces were always available. I found out why. If you park under one of these things in November, you come out in the evening, and it looks like every incontinent buzzard on Earth sat over your car.
- pandemic_region 3y agoDoes 'sat over' imply 'shat on'?
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y agoPretty much. "Sitting Over" + "Incontinent" == "Shat On"
- tomohawk 3y agoI thought you were going to say something about how large branches will just pop off and crush anything beneath them at random times. This is due to how multiple branches will come from the trunk at the same point, and are weakly attached. EDIT: Having finally eradicated all of the ones from our land, the best method is to immediately pour herbicide onto the trunk after cutting it down. The herbicide will get sucked down into the roots this way. If you don't do this, you'll get new suckers all over the place for a few years.
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y agoThis is true. Same with Ailanthus. I was talking about the pears, which are small, round things, and rot on the branch; finally plopping off. They make this nasty, sticky brown mess, filled with seeds. Looks exactly like [large] bird shit, but is actually a lot more difficult to clean.
- aidenn0 3y agoWhat herbicide do you use? I have a tree growing under my roofline that keeps growing back. I tried glyphosate last time, but it came back.
- landr0id 3y agorelevant: https://www.vice.com/en/article/7x4zza/heres-why-the-trees-on-your-street-smell-like-semen https://www.vice.com/en/article/7x4zza/heres-why-the-trees-o...
- delichon 3y agoThe original Bradford pear tree was ideal for planting because it was thought to be sterile in that it could not reproduce. -- TFA John Hammond: There you are. There. They imprint on the first creature they come in contact with. Helps them to trust me. I've been present for the birth of every creature on this island. Ian Malcolm: Well, surely not the ones that have bred in the wild. Henry Wu: Actually, they can't breed in the wild. Population control is one of our security precautions. There is no unauthorized breeding in Jurassic Park. Ian Malcolm: Uh, and how do you know they can't breed? Henry Wu: Well that's because all the animals in Jurassic Park are female. We've engineered them that way.
- gweinberg 3y agoOne of the more ridiculous concepts in a completely ridiculous movie. The frogs and fish that "change their sex" just change what kind of gametes they make in their splooge. Totally re-plumbing their insides would a completely different kettle of fish.
- kortex 3y agoIt's a plot point which drives the entire narrative. If we took out ever sci-fi element that was scientifically implausible, you'd take out a hefty chunk of sci-fi.
- razeh 3y agoWhen the article got to the part where the trees were thought to be sterile, did anyone else hear Jeff Goldblum saying “Life finds a way”?
- YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago>> But somewhere along the line other Callery pear trees and Bradford pear trees cross-pollinated and some began producing viable fruit. Birds and mammals eat the fruit and poop out the seeds, often far from the tree from which it came. "Life ... finds a way". ... with bird poop. The latter probably not in Jeff Goldblum's voice though.
- pvaldes 2y agoNah, the velocibradfors can't reproduce. Everything is fine
- gweinberg 3y agoWhy did anyone want pear trees whose fruit is inedible and whose flowers smell bad in the first place?
- Turing_Machine 3y agoThey're dirt-cheap and grow extremely fast. Just the ticket for fly-by-night real estate developers. By the time they get big enough to cause problems, the developer is long gone, off to fleece other suckers.
- pvaldes 2y agoBecause they have a lot of convenient features. Specially that they are supernarrow in their first decades. Other traits weren't so much desirable. Inedible fruit is a desirable trait in urbanism. Not necessarily a bad thing.
- 1letterunixname 3y agoOh damn, and I thought lemon trees were fun to prune. These can kill you and smell terrible. At least lemon trees tend to smell nice while threatening you with enormous thorns during pruning. Somewhat worse: Krauter Vesuvius / Cherry Plum trees stain sidewalks and make a horrible mess every year.
- shockeychap 3y agoIs it me, or does it seem like "invasive pear tree" has become a big story this spring, seemingly out of nowhere. Maybe I just don't follow news around this, but this spring there have been both local and national stories about municipalities dealing with these trees. I'm not saying it's not a story, just that I wasn't aware of it before and am wondering if it reached some kind of critical mass as a problem just this year.
- mechanicalpulse 3y agoIt's you. :) More magnanimously, you caught the story for the first time this year. I seem to come across a story about it every year around this time ever since first learning of it a couple of years ago through the Tennessee Naturalists community I follow on Facebook. As the tree spreads, so too does the knowledge of its unflattering qualities. Awareness efforts are likely to continue until community leaders take action.