Asian Pears originated in Asia a millennia ago from roses, bestowing these unique pears with their great beauty. The intoxicating scent of their floral ancestry evolved into their modern-day captivating flavors as edible fruit. Joel Spira, the successful inventor, and founder of Lutron Electronics Co., first tasted Asian Pear varieties in Japan in the 1970s. So enchanted with the Asian Pear, he brought back some of the fruit's seeds and grew them into Asian Pear trees in his own Pennsylvania backyard. Mr. Spira's wife, Ruth Rodale Spira, a trained botanist, diversified the Asian Pear trees into American-style Asian Pear varieties, further evolving the Asian Pears into what we call Subarashii Kudamono, Japanese for "wonderful fruit."