First results on the phenotypic analysis of wild and cultivated species of Pyrus in Sicily

Phenotypic analysis of Pyrus in Sicily using a set of 19 characters on 71 accessions belonging to 7 species is here reported. Results show a high level of morphological variation in this genus. Cluster analysis of the morphological characters allows to identify two groups: the first closely related to wild pears and the latter related to P. communis s. l. and P. sicanorum. It is likely to think that many Ethno-Varieties, usually attributed to P. communis, on the contrary are attributable to wild Sicilian pears and belong to indigenous germplasm.