North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark Lee" <markl@nytec.com>]

I found a tree of unusual asian pears in my neighborhood.  All the pears
had the same asymmetrical shape (lop-sided) and the same swollen stems.
A picture of one of the pears is posted at the GardenWeb link below.  Is
this a common variety with a disease, a tree-wide incomplete
pollination, or are there asian pear varieties that don't come out nice
and round? The one in the photo was on the ground and slightly bruised.
The flavor was sweet and interesting, a mix of grape and caramel. 
-Mark Lee, Seattle, z8a
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/edible/msg0911215820055.html