You are most likely referring to the (dreaded) Callery pear, a result of the much overused Bradford pear and its relatives gone wild. The Bradford is one of the Callery pears, as are Aristocrat, Cleveland Select, and others.

Unfortunately, not only are these ornamental trees prone to collapsing and falling apart after a very few few years, but their wild offspring have become an invasive species in most of the locations where they have been planted.

Callery pears are on the Invasive Plant list in many of the southern states, and Alabama is a perfect example of why.

Some people say that the flowers of the Bradford smell like pee, but I don't think it's THAT bad! More like the inside of an unwashed middle school boy's locker.

Here is a link that might be useful: Click here for more information

I agree with rhizo, but serviceberries are blooming, too. (Or were; I think they are finishing up now.) Their blooms look pretty similar from a distance.

And you can eat the berries, unlike Bradford's.

These trees dominate the landscape along Highway 280 from Harpersville to Childersburg and beyond, I'm sure.

They are a lovely sight in spring while in bloom, but they are scary. Like I said - they dominate the landscape, much like Chinese privet and/or kudzu.

It's very sad that non-native, "introduced" plants are destroying our natives...

Nelson

White (and pink) dogwoods are also in bloom now.

Dogwoods are just barely starting to bud in northern Alabama. It'll be a few weeks yet up here, but I'm looking forward to it. Dogwoods are one of my very favorite trees, year-round.

We've been watching the buds on our Carolina Silverbell get bigger and bigger with each passing day. SO lovely when in bloom.