Assessment of variability within and among four Pyrus species using multivariate analysis

•High level of morphological diversity was observed not only among the samples of different species, but also among the accessions in the same species.•Fruit size and texture as well as leaf size were the most useful traits for genetic characterization of Iranian pear germplasm.•Bi-plot and cluster analysis divided the accessions into three main groups according to the species source.•The accessions belonged to the same geographical region showed higher phenotypic proximity than those collected from different regions.