Description: Whitehouse pear was selected in 1969 from a population of 2500 seedlings growing at or near the vicinity of the U.S. Plant Introduction Station in Glenn Dale, Maryland. The original tree developed as an open pollinated seedling presumably resulting from Bradford crossed with one of the many P. calleryana seedlings growing at the station. It was one of the 12 preliminary selections that grew on the property of Mr. Radford Rigoli, Bell Station Road, Maryland. Unfortunately, the year following its selection, the original tree was destroyed during a clearing of the field for cultivation.This cultivar is named in honor of Dr. William E. Whitehouse, Senior Horticulturist, USDA, Beltsville, Maryland. It develops strong central leader with slender, upward arching branches, producing a very narrow columnar tree form. The leaves are ovate-oblong with acute tips and undulate margins. It is glossy green through summer months, dark red-purple in the late autumn. The flowers are five petaled, off white, blossoming before leaf emergence in most years and about one week after Bradford. The fruits are small, round, russet, and sparsely set unless cross-pollinated with other clones Whitehouse trees have proven to be resistant to fire blight, Erwinia amylovora, through natural infection and by field inoculation tests.