Country diary: a national treasure rooted in the urban landscape

Plymouth, Devon Few would give it a second look but this scruffy-looking pear is one of Britain's rarest treesThere's a wooden picnic bench on the grass, though it is not the most inviting of locations to stop for lunch, next to an ambulance vehicle depot and overshadowed by a multi-storey car park. In sunny weather, I imagine workers from nearby Derriford hospital might visit this secluded spot during a break. But on this rainy autumn day, I have it to myself and with it a natural treasure that has endured here for more than 60 years, even as the buildings have sprung up around it. Fenced off in a corner near the bench stands a Plymouth pear (Pyrus cordata), named after the area where it was first spotted in 1870. Continue reading...