Pears retain memories of bloodshed. One such “bloody pear” grew on the site of the battle of Evesham in Worcestershire, England, and commemorated the event with red-streaked fruit. Another near Ellesmere in Shropshire bore blotchy red fruit because a woman had murdered her daughter and buried her under the tree.

A Pyrus communus at Unsterburg, Austria, blossomed only while the Holy Roman Empire flourished. In 1806, that empire was dissolved and the tree assumed the appearance of lifelessness for decades. In 1871, a new empire was established, and the tree promptly blossomed and fruited once again.

Another tale from Gloucestershire, England, tells of a farmer who had an orchard of pear trees that bore lovely fruit, which was always stolen by crows before the harvest.

Fed up, he applied bird lime – a sticky substance once used to trap birds – to the trees and then waited for the birds to come. When they settled on the trees, they became stuck. Panicked, they all began flapping mightily until they had pulled the trees up, roots and all, and took off.

A rainstorm washed off the lime and, one by one, the trees fell to earth and took root again in a hedgerow. They are still there to this day.

No one knows what became of the crows.

Pear is the Chinese flower of August and symbolizes purity and longevity. It also serves as the badge of actors and musicians. The Chinese consider it bad luck to divide a pear between two people.

In Europe and Asia, pear trees guarded against evil spirits, and they were often planted by gates or in the northeast corner of a property, as this was known as “the devil’s quarter.” To ask the impossible of someone is to “ask an elm tree for pears.”

In ancient Greece, pear trees were considered gifts from the gods. They are even mentioned in Homer’s “Odyssey.” The pear was also sacred to the Egyptian goddess Isis, who is often depicted holding the fruit.

According to astrologist and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper, the pear was “under Venus,” meaning it was ruled by her. Before tobacco arrived in Europe, people smoked pear leaves.

When grown in a protective, nurturing environment by a careful gardener, the pear tree represses its natural defenses. When growing wild in hostile conditions, however, it develops a thick deep bark and long sharp thorns to protect it from predators.

Sounds rather like us, does it not?

– A reference librarian, Lisa Karen Miller has been gardening and researching plant lore for many years. Have plant lore to share? Email lisalisa13131313@gmail.com.