Pyrus ×bretschneideri, the Chinese White Pear (白梨 bái lí), is an interspecific hybrid species of pear

Pear

The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....

 native to northern China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, where it is widely grown for its edible fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

. Recent molecular genetic evidence confirms some relationship to the Siberian pear (P. ussuriensis), but it can also be classified as a subspecies of the Chinese pear (P. pyrifolia

Pyrus pyrifolia

Pyrus pyrifolia is a pear tree species native to China, Japan, and Korea. The tree's edible fruit is known by many names, including: Asian pear, Chinese pear, Korean pear, Japanese pear, Taiwan pear, and sand pear.....

).

These very juicy, white to light yellow pears, unlike the round Nashi pears (P. pyrifolia) that are also grown in eastern Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, are shaped more like a European pear

European Pear

The European Pear, Pyrus communis, is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe and southwest Asia. The European Pear is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, being the species from which most orchard pear cultivars grown in Europe, North America and Australia have...

, narrow towards the stem end. “Ya Li” (鸭梨, pinyin yā lí), literally translated as "Duck Pear" due to its mallard-like shape, is one cultivar widely grown in China, and exported around the world. Ya pears taste similar to a mild Bosc pear

Bosc Pear

The Beurré Bosc or Bosc is a cultivar of the European Pear grown in the northwestern U.S. states of California, Washington, and Oregon; Australia; as well as in British Columbia, Ontario and Europe, where it is sometimes called Kaiser.Characteristic features are a long tapering neck and russeted...

, but are crisp, with a higher water content and lower sugar content.