André Desportes
Pear
André Desportes
Origin/History
The parent tree of this variety grew in the seed beds of M. André Leroy, the well-known authority on pomology, at Angers, France. M. Leroy obtained it in 1854 from pips of Williams' Bon Chrétien — known in America as the Bartlett pear. He named the variety after the son of M. Baptiste Desportes, manager of the business department of his establishment. The vigor and high quality of the fruit were quickly appreciated, and the variety was soon disseminated far and wide. At the time of Hedrick (1921), it was sparingly grown in New York and still listed by a few American nurserymen.
Tree
Characteristically upright and vigorous, rapid-growing, hardy, productive. Branches slender, smooth, light brown overlaid with thin, grayish scarf-skin, marked with small lenticels. Branchlets thick, long, with short internodes, reddish-brown, slightly streaked toward the tips with ash-gray scarf-skin, dull, smooth, glabrous, with numerous small but very conspicuous raised lenticels.
Leaf-buds large, pointed, plump, appressed. Leaves 2¾ in. long, 1¼ in. wide, ovate, stiff, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin glandular, slightly crenate; petiole 1½ in. long.
Flower-buds large, long, conical, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or on short spurs. Flowers showy, 1½ in. across, occasionally tinged pink, borne in dense clusters averaging 9 flowers per cluster; pedicels ¾ in. long, thick, pubescent.
Fruit
Size and Form: Medium in size, though sometimes large; individual fruits often run small. Measurements: 2⅝ in. long, 2¼ in. wide (Hedrick). Shape obovate-obtuse-pyriform. Hedrick describes the fruit as symmetrical and uniform; Downing notes it as oblique — these accounts conflict.
Stem: 1 in. long, thick, curved.
Cavity: Obtuse, shallow, dotted with russet, often lipped.
Calyx: Small, open; lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, acute.
Basin: Shallow, narrow, obtuse, gently furrowed, symmetrical.
Skin: Thin, tender, smooth. Ground color dull greenish-yellow (Hedrick; Thomas gives "pale green"), dotted and marbled with reddish-brown, blushed on the sunny side (Hedrick). Downing describes the sunny-side coloring as patches of fawn and bronze. Dots numerous, small, light-colored, obscure.
Flesh and Flavor: Flesh tinged with yellow (Hedrick) or yellowish white (Downing), fine, tender and melting, buttery, juicy. Hedrick describes it as sweet and aromatic with quality rated very good; Downing characterizes the flavor as sugary acid. Downing further notes the flesh is granulous at the core. The pears are handsome and very good in quality, but quickly soften at the center.
Core and Seeds: Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines. Calyx-tube short, wide, conical. Seeds small, wide, plump, acute.
Season
Ripens in summer. Downing gives July; Hedrick gives August — these accounts conflict.
Uses
Well worth planting in a collection. Of no value in a commercial plantation, and there are many better sorts for home orchards. The fruit neither keeps nor ships well, softening rapidly at the center after ripening.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 3 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 3 catalogs (1889–1893) from California
- California Nursery Co. , Niles , California — 1889
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1889
- Sherwood Hall Nursery Co. , Timothy Hopkins (Menlo Park Nurseries), San Francisco / Menlo Park , California — 1893
View original book sources (3)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Andre Desportes.
Originated in the gardens of M. Andre Leroy, in France, 1854.
Fruit medium, obovate obtuse pyriform, oblique. Skin greenish yellow, with patches of fawn and bronze in the sun. Flesh yellowish white, fine, juicy, melting, granulous at the core, sugary acid. July. (Leroy.)
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)ANDRÉ DESPORTES
- Leroy Dict. Pom. 1:127, fig. 1867. 2. Mas Pom. Gen. 3:51, fig. 122. 1878. 3. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 138, fig. 1906.
This old French sort is sparingly grown in New York, and is still listed by a few American nurserymen. The pears are handsome and very good in quality, but they quickly soften at the center and neither keep nor ship well. While usually of medium size, or sometimes large, the pears often run small. The variety is well worth planting in a collection, but has no value in a commercial plantation, and there are many better sorts for home orchards.
The parent tree of this variety grew in the seed beds of M. André Leroy, the well-known authority on pomology, at Angers, France. M. Leroy obtained it in 1854 from pips of Williams' Bon Chrétien, or as it is better known here, the Bartlett pear. He named it after the son of M. Baptiste Desportes, manager of the business department of his establishment. The vigor and high quality of the fruit were quickly appreciated, and the variety was soon disseminated far and wide.
Tree characteristically upright and vigorous, rapid-growing, hardy, productive; branches slender, smooth, light brown overlaid with thin, grayish scarf-skin, marked with small lenticels; branchlets thick, long, with short internodes, reddish-brown, slightly streaked toward the tips with ash-gray scarf-skin, dull, smooth, glabrous, with numerous small, but very conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaf-buds large, pointed, plump, appressed. Leaves 2¾ in. long, 1¼ in. wide, ovate, stiff, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin glandular, slightly crenate; petiole 1½ in. long. Flower-buds large, long, conical, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or on short spurs; flowers showy, 1½ in. across, occasionally tinged pink, in dense clusters, averaging 9 flowers per cluster; pedicels ¾ in. long, thick, pubescent.
Fruit ripe in August; medium in size, 2⅝ in. long, 2¼ in. wide, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, symmetrical, uniform; stem 1 in. long, thick, curved; cavity obtuse, shallow, dotted with russet, often lipped; calyx small, open; lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, acute; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, gently furrowed, symmetrical; skin thin, tender, smooth; color dull greenish-yellow, dotted and marbled with reddish-brown, blushed on the sunny side; dots numerous, small, light colored, obscure; flesh tinged with yellow, fine, tender and melting, buttery, juicy, sweet, aromatic; quality very good. Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds small, wide, plump, acute.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Andre Desportes. Medium, obovate pyriform, pale green, juicy and melting. Summer. France.