The trees are beautiful. Those Callery pear trees, known regionally as Bradford pears, are large and covered with white, five-petaled flowers, native to China and Vietnam. You’ve seen them bloom and flourish for several weeks in Alabama now, and you likely knew they were here before you ever laid eyes on them.
Because, well, they stink. But what is that smell? You can’t quite place it. Not quite harsh or bitter enough to think it’s a dead animal in the vicinity of the tree. No, it’s the tree. It smells a bit rotten, kind of a fishy odor. But why does such a stunning natural creation like the Bradford pear tree smell so bad?
Dale Dickens, registered forester and Urban Forestry Coordinator with the Alabama Forestry Commission, has an explanation.
“I believe the strong scent of the Bradford pear, a cultivar of Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana), is a combination of trimethylamine (fishy smell), dimethylamine, and possibly a few more chemical compounds created within the plant,” he said. “The purpose is not fully known, but is likely a signal to pollinators attracting them to help the trees with reproduction.”
He said that particular smell is unique to the Bradford Pear, and while other trees on Alabama’s streets may have a fragrant smell, the odor of blooming Bradford pear trees is one of the few often referred to as a “stink”.
Oh, so rotten fish eggs isn’t the scent you’re thinking of? In 2017, Vice explored the other odor people insist they detect in the presence of the Bradford pears.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you that Bradford pear is a non-native invasive plant and should be considered for removal,” he said. He even shared a list of alternatives to plant in place of Bradford pear from the Alabama Cooperative Extension Systems (ACES) that said the following:
“Consider removing planted cultivars of Callery pear from your landscape. Several native alternatives can provide similar flowers or fall color as well as much better habitat for birds and other wildlife.”
Native alternatives with similar flowers: Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), native crabapple (Malus coronaria), native plum (Prunus spp.) Native alternatives with fall color: Florida maple (Acer floridanum), chalk maple (A. leucoderme), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica).
“Callery pears are rapidly growing trees that can form dense thickets, outcompeting native plants for light, water, and nutrients,” according to ACES. “The species has proven very successful at invading disturbed areas, open fields, unimproved pastures, rights of ways, and forest edges. It is tolerant of partial shade and sites with dry to wet soils. As they continue to spread, it is likely that a greater array of sites will be prone to invasion, including managed pine stands.”
You might even see and hear hundreds of bees swarming the petals, even tearing them to shreds. But they are probably just visiting the flowers and not eating them, Dickens said.
Nancy Loewenstein, an extension specialist at the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University, said the trees are no longer limited to street trees and yards and are beginning to spread rapidly in some parts of the state and moving beyond roadsides and open fields into pastures and forest land.
“Due to concern of their invasiveness, we’re encouraging folks to stop planting Callery pear and to remove it where possible,” she said in an email. “To this end, the city of Auburn held a Callery pear exchange last year [expanded to include other invasive tree species] where people could cut down a Callery pear from their yard and get a native tree to replace it. Clemson University has held a very successful Callery pear bounty program for several years now.”
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March 17, 2021 at 08:05PM
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Why do Bradford pear trees smell like...that? - AL.com
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