Barcelona Pearmain
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Barcelona Pearmain
Origin/History
A foreign variety of continental origin, country uncertain. Evidently widely grown under many names, presumably owing to its good qualities. Recorded in Ronalds (p. 21). By 1920 (Bunyard) it was almost out of cultivation.
Tree
Hardy and productive (Downing). Growth moderate; fertile (Bunyard).
Leaves: Medium, flat, oval, with a long point, broadly serrate (Bunyard).
Fruit
Size and Form: Downing describes the fruit as medium; Bunyard describes it as smallish, measuring 2¼ inches by 2¼ inches. Roundish-oblong, regular (both sources agree on form).
Stem: Not described in source.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Ground color pale yellow, mostly covered with red (Downing) or flushed with red (Bunyard). Downing additionally notes many star-like russet specks on the surface.
Flesh and Flavor: Downing describes the flesh as yellowish white; Bunyard describes it as pale yellow. Both sources agree it is crisp and aromatic. Downing further characterizes it as firm, rich, and subacid.
Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
Downing gives November to March. Bunyard gives November to January. Both agree on the November start; the end of the keeping season is given as January (Bunyard) or March (Downing).
Uses
Dessert (Bunyard).
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
The variety was known under a large number of synonyms across different countries, reflecting its wide diffusion: Speckled Golden Reinette, Speckled Pearmain, Polinia Pearmain, Reinette Rousse, Reinette Rouge, Reinette des Cannes, Glace Rouge, Cassel Reinette, and Kleine Casseler Reinette (Kleiner Casseler Reinette in German).
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 2 catalogs (1901–1913) from Illinois
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
View original book sources (2)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Barcelona Pearmain.
Speckled Golden Reinette. Speckled Pearmain. Polinia Pearmain. Reinette Rousse. Reinette Rouge. Reinette des Cannes. Glace Rouge. Cassel Reinette. Kleine Casseler Reinette.
A foreign variety of uncertain origin, which from its good qualities there, has evidently been widely grown under many names. Tree hardy and productive.
Fruit medium, roundish oblong, pale yellow, mostly covered with red, and many star-like russet specks. Flesh yellowish white, firm, crisp, rich, aromatic, subacid. November to March.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)BARCELONA PEARMAIN. Ronalds, p. 21. G., Kleiner Casseler Reinette. (Speckled Golden Reinette, Speckled Pearmain.) Dessert, November to January, smallish, 2¼ by 2¼, roundish-oblong, regular, Colour, pale yellow, flushed with red. Flesh, crisp, pale yellow, aromatic. Growth, moderate ; fertile. Leaf, medium, flat, oval, with a long point, broadly serrate. Origin, continental ; country uncertain. It is now almost out of cultivation.