Black Worcester pear
The black Worcester pear (also known as Parkinson's Warden and the Worcester Black Pear) is a cultivar of the European pear (Pyrus communis), it may have come to the UK via the Romans, but also has been used in heraldry and around the city of Worcester. The dark fruit is mainly used for cooking or culinary uses. History It is thought it may have come to the UK by the Romans and was first mentioned at the Cistercian built Abbey of Warden in Bedfordshire in the 13th century. It may also be linked to the French pear ‘de Livre’. 'Black Worcester' was recorded as being grown by monks at the Abbey as early as 1388. As a long keeping fruit, it formed an important part of the winter diet until root-crops were introduced. The fruit is larger than average and the flesh hard and coarse, but is reported to be excellent when stewed. It may also have been used to make perry. In the 1990s and 2000s, Worcestershire County Council created a 'Fruit Trees for Worcestershire' scheme, in which several hundred young black pear trees were planted. The cultivar is a tentatively accepted name by the RHS. Heraldry Pears formed