Fameuse

Fameuse
Species	Apple
Trees Found	2
Orchards	McCoin Upper
Preserved	Clarno Arboretum(2025)

Medium, skin on a ground of pale greenish yellow mixed with faint streaks of pale red on the shady side, and becoming a fine deep red in the sun. Flesh remarkably white, very nice and juicy with a slight perfume, very good, almost best. October and November. Read the full entry: Fameuse on the Variety Finder for deeper history, every book quote, and all nursery catalog references.

Quick Facts

Type	Apple
Season	Early (Early fall (late September to early October))
Flavor	sweet, vinous, berry, subacid, aromatic, mild
Flavor notes	Sweet with vinous (wine-like) quality; hints of strawberry and almond aroma; crisp, juicy, bright white flesh
Uses	fresh eating, cider, cooking
Keeping quality	Fair
Size	Medium
Shape	Round
Skin color	red, crimson, yellow, green, striped, dark, purple, blushed, orange, pink
Flesh	White tender
Origin	France or Quebec, France, c. 1690. Disputed; either France in the late 1600s or developed from French seedlings in Quebec, Canada; documented in Canada by 1739

Synonyms

Bloom, Brilliant, Canada Baldwin, Chimney, Chimney Apple, De Neige, Fameuse Noire, Fameuse Sucre, Formosa, Hilaire, La Belle Fameuse, La Fameuse, La Victoire, Louise, Marcchal (P. du), McIntosh, Neige, Neige-Framboise de Gielen, Pomme Fameuse, Pomme de Fameuse, Pomme de Neige, Pomme de Neige der Amerikaner, Red American, Royal Snow, Sanguineous, Sanguineus, Shiawassee, Snow, Snow Apple, Snow Chimney, Snow-apple, du Marechal

Fruit

Size: Generally medium, but with reservations. Warder, Downing, Elliott, Hovey, Thomas: medium. Hovey gives "about three inches broad, and two and a half deep." Beach: "hardly averages medium but sometimes is above medium size"; fruit of marketable grades fairly uniform in size, but a considerable amount is too small for market. Hedrick: medium. Lowther: small to medium. Bunyard: small, 2¼ by 2¼ inches. Hedrick notes "the apples are small."

Form: Roundish, sometimes a little oblate, regular, uniform, symmetrical (Beach, Hedrick, Lowther); roundish, somewhat flattened (Downing, Elliott); round, occasionally flattened at the base, and largest in the middle (Hovey); round, often oblate, even (Thomas); roundish inclined to conic (Beach); round-conic, sometimes oblate (Hedrick); round, regular (Warder); round, flattened, regular (Bunyard).

Stem/stalk: Short, about half an inch long, rather slender (Hovey, Downing); short (Warder); slender (Elliott, Bunyard, Fisher-NwC, Budd-Hansen); three-fourths of an inch long, slender (Thomas); medium to short but sometimes long, rather slender (Beach, Hedrick); short, slender (Budd-Hansen).

Cavity: Wide, wavy, green (Warder); narrow, funnel-shaped (Downing); moderately deep and somewhat contracted (Hovey); narrow (Elliott); small (Thomas); round, even, narrow (Bunyard); large, deep, rather wide (Budd-Hansen); acute to somewhat acuminate, moderately deep to deep, rather wide, often gently furrowed, sometimes partly russeted but generally smooth and red or greenish (Beach); acute, deep, wide, often gently furrowed, sometimes russeted but generally smooth and red or green (Hedrick); acute, moderately deep, rather wide, often gently furrowed, sometimes partly russeted, but generally smooth and greenish red, in the Northwest often a deep red (Lowther).

Calyx/eye: Very small, closed (Warder); small, set in basin (Downing); small, closed, little depressed; segments of the calyx rather long, twisted (Hovey); small (Elliott); a little open in a shallow ribbed basin (Bunyard); rather small, usually closed (Beach); small, closed (Hedrick); half open, segments short (Budd-Hansen).

Basin: Medium, regular (Warder); shallow, rather narrow (Downing); slightly furrowed (Hovey); shallow, narrow (Elliott); quite small, slightly wrinkled (Thomas); shallow, ribbed (Bunyard); medium in width and depth, rather small, somewhat abrupt, obscurely furrowed or wrinkled, often having mammiform protuberances (Beach); medium in width and depth, abrupt, obscurely furrowed or wrinkled, often having mammiform protuberances (Hedrick); medium, narrow, nearly smooth (Budd-Hansen).

Skin/color: Pale waxen yellow ground, almost wholly covered deep red, made up of stripes and splashes that are not always traceable in the depth of color, absent where a portion of the apple has been shaded by a leaf (Warder). Pale greenish yellow ground, mixed with faint streaks of pale red on the shady side, but marked with blotches and short stripes of darker red, becoming a fine deep red in the sun (Downing). Yellowish green, nearly covered with a lively pale red, and streaked with purplish crimson, very dark on the sunny side (Hovey); brilliant purplish crimson skin contrasting with snow-white flesh (Hovey, narrative). Greenish yellow, mostly overspread with pale and dark rich red (Elliott). Handsomely striped and blotched with fine deep red on whitish ground, where much exposed, a deep, nearly uniform red (Thomas). Brilliant red flush almost covering fruit (Bunyard). Thin, tender, smooth, light bright red deepening to almost purplish black in highly colored specimens with a somewhat striped appearance toward the apex; in less highly colored specimens the striped effect is more noticeable (Beach). Thin, tender, smooth, bright red deepening to dark red in highly-colored specimens, striped toward the apex (Hedrick). Tender skin of light and shaded red (Hedrick narrative). Thin, smooth, bright red blush (Fisher-NwC).

Dots: Minute (Warder); few, scattering, light (Beach, Hedrick); few, yellow, obscure (Budd-Hansen).

Flesh/flavor: Snowy white, very tender, fine-grained, juicy; flavor sub-acid, mild, delicately perfumed, not rich; quality good (Warder). Remarkably white, very tender, juicy, with a slight perfume; very good, almost best (Downing). Snow-white, fine, crisp and very tender; juice abundant, slightly subacid, rich and excellent, with a delicate musky aroma; in peculiarly tender, almost melting flesh, and slightly musky aroma, it greatly resembles some of the fine pears (Hovey). Remarkably white, tender, juicy, with a slight perfume (Elliott). Very white, juicy, sub-acid, a little spicy, exceedingly pleasant, but not very rich (Thomas). Crisp, white, flavour poor (Bunyard). White, sometimes streaked or stained with red, very tender, juicy, subacid becoming very mild subacid or sweetish, aromatic, very good for dessert (Beach). White, streaked or stained with red, very tender, juicy, subacid becoming mild subacid, aromatic; very good (Hedrick). Hedrick narrative: "If the tender skin of light and shaded red be cut through, flesh of snowy whiteness rimmed and stained with crimson is exposed, beautiful to sight and delectable to smell and taste." White, crisp, tender, slightly stained next skin, juicy, pleasant subacid; very good (Budd-Hansen). White (snow), very tender, juicy, subacid, aromatic, very good dessert (Fisher-NwC). Beach summary: "very beautiful in appearance and the flesh is white, tender and excellent in flavor and quality for dessert"; "decidedly inferior to other varieties of its season for culinary purposes."

Core/seeds: Core medium, heart-shaped, closed, meeting the eye; seeds numerous, pointed, rich brown (Warder). Core medium size, closed; seeds medium size, long and pointed (Hovey). Core close, compact; seeds light brown, long pointed (Elliott). Core small (Budd-Hansen); core medium to rather small, axile; cells closed; core lines clasping; carpels symmetrical, roundish or inclined to elliptical, somewhat emarginate, mucronate; seeds dark, long, rather narrow, acute to acuminate (Beach). Core small, axile; cells closed; core-lines clasping; carpels symmetrical, round or elliptical, emarginate, mucronate; seeds dark, long, narrow, acute (Hedrick). Calyx tube narrow, funnel-form; stamens median or somewhat basal (Beach); stamens median (Hedrick).

Season

October to December (Warder); ripe in October and November (Downing, Hovey); October to January (Elliott); late autumn (Thomas); ripe in October and November and keeps well (Hovey); October to midwinter (Beach, Hedrick); November to January (Bunyard); August, September (Budd-Hansen, note this conflicts with all other sources, which place ripening in October–midwinter); winter season (Fisher-MnS); fall season (Fisher-IaA); October to mid-winter (Fisher-NwC). Beach reports it keeps well in cold storage and, if free from scab, may be held as long as Rhode Island Greening; market season in Northern states extends from October to the holidays (Beach, Lowther). Hedrick states the apples keep only until Christmas.

Uses

Dessert, kitchen, market (Warder); a handsome dessert fruit (Downing); much admired as a table fruit for its handsome appearance and pleasant, refreshing flavor (Thomas); dessert (Bunyard); one of the most desirable dessert apples of its season, very beautiful in appearance, flesh white, tender, excellent in flavor and quality for dessert, but decidedly inferior to other varieties of its season for culinary purposes (Beach, Lowther). Very good dessert (Fisher-NwC).

Sources

• S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 2 (1905). Public domain.
• J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914). Public domain.
• Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914). Public domain.
• C.M. Hovey, The Fruits of America (1852). Public domain.
• A.J. Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1869). Public domain.
• F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865). Public domain.
• John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867). Public domain.
• E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920). Public domain.
• H.H. Fisher, A Survey of Apple Clones in the United States (USDA ARS, 1963). Public domain.
• U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922). Public domain.
• John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903). Public domain.
• USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection, U.S. National Agricultural Library.
• 79 historical nursery catalog references (see Variety Finder for the full list).
• Full entry with all citations: Fameuse on the Variety Finder

Trees of this Variety in Our Collection

	Orchard	Tag	Condition
McCoin Upper Tree 46	McCoin Upper	46	good
McCoin Upper Tree 47	McCoin Upper	47	poor