Bergamote d'Automne Panachée
PearBergamote d'Automne Panachée
Origin/History
Bergamote d'Automne Panachée is a variegated form of the French Bergamotte d'Automne. Merlet described it in 1675 in his Abrégé des bons fruits under the name Bergamote Suisse, the name indicating thereby the country of its origin. The variety is catalogued in Leroy's Dictionnaire de Pomologie (1:225, fig., 1867) and in Hogg's Fruit Manual (p. 505, 1884).
Tree
Branches are often striped (Downing). No further tree characteristics described in sources.
Fruit
Size and Form: Fruit of medium size, roundish and somewhat inclining to turbinate, regular in outline. Hedrick specifies that the summit is always a little mammillate. Thomas corroborates the roundish, slightly turbinate form.
Skin: Sources differ in their description of the skin coloring. Downing and Thomas describe the skin as smooth, pale green, striped with yellow and pale red. Hedrick gives a more detailed account: color olive-yellow, occasionally slightly tinged with dull red, spotted all over with large, fawn-colored dots, and beautifully striped longitudinally with large bands of brownish-green, these bands passing into bright green on the side shaded from the sun.
Flesh: White (Hedrick), melting and buttery, sugary and acidulous (Hedrick). Downing and Thomas describe the flesh as melting, juicy, sweet, and pleasant or agreeable.
Cavity, Stem, Calyx, Basin, Core, Seeds: Not described in sources.
Season
October (Downing, Thomas). October and November (Hedrick).
Uses
Not described in sources.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in sources.
Other
Downing rates the variety "Good." Hedrick rates it "first" quality. The variety is also known historically as Bergamotte Suisse, Striped Bergamot, and Bergamot Rayée — names reflecting its Swiss origin and distinctive striped appearance.
Book Sources
Described in 3 period pomological works
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900) — listed as Swiss Bergamot
- Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)
- Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903) — listed as Bergamotte Suisse
View original book sources (3)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Swiss Bergamot.
Bergamotte Suisse. Striped Bergamot. Bergamot Rayee.
A very pretty, roundish, striped Pear. Branches often striped.
Fruit of medium size, roundish, a little inclined to turbinate. Skin smooth, pale green, striped with yellow and pale red. Flesh melting, juicy, sweet, and pleasant. Good. October.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Bergamotte Suisse. Medium, roundish, pale green, yellow and pale red; melting, sweet, pleasant. October.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Swiss Bergamot", pp. 804–804]
Swiss Bergamot. Medium, roundish, slightly turbinate, pale green and pale red; melting, sweet, agreeable. October.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Bergamote d'Automne Panachée.
- Leroy Dict. Pom. 1:225, fig. 1867. Bergamotte Suisse.
- Hogg Fruit Man. 505. 1884.
A variegated form of the French Bergamotte d'Automne. Merlet, who described it in 1675 in his Abrégé des bons fruits, named it Bergamote Suisse, indicating thereby the country of its origin. Fruit medium, roundish and flattened, somewhat inclining to turbinate, regular, and having the summit always a little mammillate, color olive-yellow, occasionally slightly tinged with dull red, spotted all over with large, fawn dots, and beautifully striped longitudinally with large bands of brownish-green passing into bright green on the side shaded from the sun; flesh white, melting and buttery, sugary, acidulous; first; Oct. and Nov.