Belle Guérandaise

Pear

Belle Guérandaise

Origin/History

Raised by M. Dion at Guérande, Loire-Atlantique, France. He sowed a bed of seeds in 1869 — Hedrick states the seeds were a mixed lot, while Bunyard identifies the parent as Doyenne du Comice specifically. The variety first fruited in 1893. It was introduced by M. Bruant of Poitiers in 1895 (Bunyard) and was placed on the accepted list by the Pomological Society of France in 1904 (Hedrick). It is figured in Catalogue du Congrès Pomologique de France 143 (1906) and Revue Horticole 136, pl. (1907).

Bunyard notes: "This is a large and fine fruit and if sufficiently fertile in this country it should be widely grown."

Tree

Growth habit upright spreading. Fertility fair. Leaf small, pointed oval, slightly upfolded, entire; turns very pale yellow in autumn and falls early.

Fruit

Size and Form: Large, measuring approximately 3½ inches wide by 4 inches long (Bunyard). Hedrick describes the form as ovate; Bunyard as round oval and even.

Stem: Medium length, stout, set in a slight uneven cavity.

Cavity: Slight, uneven.

Calyx/Eye: Open, set in a shallow depression or often nearly on the level with the surface.

Basin: Shallow.

Skin: Hedrick describes the ground color as lemon-yellow, often largely covered with fawn. Bunyard describes it as pale yellow almost entirely covered with brown smooth russet.

Flesh and Flavor: Hedrick: fine, very saccharine, juicy, with a slight perfume of orange blossom; quality rated good. Bunyard: white, melting, perfumed, of excellent quality.

Season

October and November.

Uses

Dessert.

Subtypes/Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 2 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 1 catalog (1900) from England

George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900

View original book sources (2)

Belle Guérandaise.

Cat. Cong. Pom. France 143, fig. 1906.

Rev. Hort. 136, Pl. 1907.

M. Dion, Guérande, Fr., sowed in 1869 a bed of mixed seeds from which he obtained the variety here described. It first fruited in 1893 and was placed on the accepted list by the Pomological Society of France in 1904. Fruit large, ovate, lemon-yellow, often covered with fawn; flesh fine, very saccharine, juicy, with a slight perfume of orange blossom; good; Oct. and Nov.

— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)

BELLE GUERANDAISE. Dessert, large, 3½ by 4, round oval, even. Colour, pale yellow almost covered with brown smooth russet. Flesh, white, melting, perfumed, of excellent quality. Eye, open in a shallow depression or often on level. Stem, medium, stout, in a slight uneven cavity. Growth, upright spreading; fertility, fair. Leaf, small, pointed oval, slightly upfolded, entire, turning very pale yellow, falling early. Origin, raised by M. Dion near Guerande (Loire), from a seed of Doyenne du Comice and introduced by M. Bruant of Poitiers in 1895. This is a large and fine fruit and if sufficiently fertile in this country it should be widely grown.

— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)