Bellissime d'Ete'
Pear
Bellissime d'Été
Origin/History
Presented by William Coxe in A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817) as a distinct named variety under the title "Beauty of Summer." John J. Thomas (The American Fruit Culturist, 1903) cross-references this variety to the French Jargonelle, treating the two as equivalent names for the same fruit.
Tree
Bears abundantly. Fruit sometimes grows in clusters. Not otherwise described in source.
Fruit
Size: Small.
Form: Regular, diminishing towards the stem.
Stem: Long.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Smooth. Ground color bright yellow; cheek toward the sun of a brilliant red. Small dots present on the surface.
Flesh/Flavor: A pretty good early pear when picked before it is too ripe. Not further described in source.
Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
Ripens about the middle of July.
Uses
Dessert; best quality is obtained by picking before fully ripe.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Coxe notes the fruit as "singularly beautiful," a quality reflected in its common name, "Beauty of Summer."
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
View original book sources (2)
— William Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)
- BELLISSIME D'ETE,' OR THE BEAUTY OF SUMMER.
The fruit is small, and singularly beautiful—the skin is smooth, of a bright yellow, the cheek towards the sun of a brilliant red, with small dots—the form is regular, diminishing towards the stem, which is long; if picked before it is too ripe, it is a pretty good early pear; it sometimes grows in clusters, produces abundantly, and ripens about the middle of July.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Bellissime d'Été. See French Jargonelle.