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Beurré Giffard

Pear
USDA watercolor illustration of Beurré Giffard

USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection

Beurré Giffard

Origin / History

Found as a wilding, a chance seedling, in 1825 by M. Nicolas Giffard, near Angers, France. The Herefordshire Pomona styles him "of Fonassières, near Angers"; Hedrick gives "Foussières, France." First described in 1840 by M. Millet. Hedrick identifies Millet as president of the Society of Horticulture of Maine-et-Loire and places the description in the Bulletins of that Society. According to Hedrick, it was introduced into America about 1850 and added in 1858 to the fruit catalog-list of the American Pomological Society. Planted for test at the Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz, British Columbia, in spring 1893.

Esteemed as an early pear: "one of the very best early Pears" (Herefordshire Pomona), "an early Pear of value" (Downing), "an excellent early fruit" (Bunyard).

Tree

Growth moderate (Elliott, Downing, the Agassiz station) to free and vigorous (Herefordshire Pomona, Hedrick); Bunyard calls it rather weak. Habit straggling, very straggling in Bunyard's account. Hedrick describes the tree as of medium size, spreading to very spreading, and open-topped. He judges the trees, "while in no way remarkable," to be "quite up to the average in all characters."

Shoots long and slender, dark reddish to reddish purple. Hedrick gives the branches as reddish-brown, nearly covered with gray scarf-skin, with long, narrow, large lenticels. Branchlets slender. New growth willowy, long, reddish-brown, smooth, and glabrous except near the tips, with conspicuous, raised, round lenticels. Leaf-buds small, short, pointed, appressed (Hedrick).

Leaves small, pointed, oval, upfolded, down-hanging, with the margin entire or only faintly serrate (Bunyard). Hedrick gives the leaves as stiff, with a taper-pointed apex and the margin entire to almost entire, sometimes slightly pubescent. In the Pears of New York he measures them 2½ in. long by 1¼ in. wide, with the petiole ¾ in. long; his 1922 condensation gives 2¼ in. by 1½ in., with the petiole 2½ in. Petiole slender, reddish-green. Stipules very long and slender.

Flower-buds small, plump, free, borne singly on very short spurs. Flowers showy, 1¼ in. across, in dense clusters averaging 8 buds to a cluster. Pedicels ¾ in. long, pubescent (Hedrick).

A good bearer to productive; George Bunyard & Co. call it very productive. Elliott calls it a good bearer on Quince or Pear. Hardy. Hedrick says it surpasses most of its orchard associates in hardiness and fruitfulness. Bunyard calls it extremely hardy and says it is successfully cultivated up to 1,200 meters in Switzerland.

The Herefordshire Pomona says the tree must grow against a wall, or its fruit will be smaller than that figured on its plate, which was grown on the Cordon Wall at Holme Lacy. Bunyard says it succeeds as a standard.

Fruit

Size: Medium in most accounts, medium to large in Budd and Hansen. Hedrick's 1922 introduction calls the pears large. Hedrick calls the size variable and gives an average of 3 in. long by 2½ in. wide; his 1922 condensation gives 2½ in. long by 3 in. wide.

Form: Pyriform, tapering to the stem. Bunyard says it tapers much to the stem and is "a little even." The Herefordshire Pomona gives it as pyriform or turbinate, and Thomas as slightly Bosc-shaped, but shorter. Hedrick gives it as obovate-acute-pyriform and likens it to Beurré Clairgeau in shape and color.

Stem: Rather long to long, slender, curved. The Herefordshire Pomona gives it as an inch long and obliquely inserted on the apex of the fruit; Hedrick gives ¾ in. Budd and Hansen say it is inserted at the top of the neck.

Cavity: Flat, surrounded with russet (Bunyard). Hedrick calls it lacking, the flesh closing up symmetrically around the stem except when drawn up in a lip.

Calyx: Elliott, Bunyard, and Hedrick give it as open; Bunyard has it "open on level," and Hedrick calls it small. The Herefordshire Pomona, Downing, and Thomas give it as closed. Segments stiff (Downing). Hedrick gives the lobes as separated at the base, narrow, and acuminate, and the calyx-tube as narrow and funnel-shaped.

Basin: Shallow and small to very small, the eye on the level in Bunyard's account. Hedrick describes the basin as shallow, narrow, obtuse, almost smooth, and symmetrical.

Skin: Thin, tender, smooth. Ground greenish yellow, yellowish green to pale yellow; Hedrick calls it dull greenish-yellow. Red on the sunny side, marbled, mottled, in patches, or as a flush, brownish red in Bunyard's account. Hedrick gives a dotted, dull red blush, a slightly dotted, dull pinkish-red blush in his 1922 text, and says the fruit is often without blush. George Bunyard & Co. describe it as yellow-green with a bronze and golden russet. Rivers calls it "a very well coloured pear that has produced fine golden coloured fruit."

Dots: Pale russet specks (Elliott). Hedrick gives them as numerous, small, greenish and russet, and very conspicuous.

Flesh and flavor: Flesh white in most accounts; Hedrick calls it tinged with yellow and granular at the center. Melting, juicy to very juicy. George Bunyard & Co. call it buttery, and Hedrick's 1922 text calls it crisp but melting.

Flavor vinous, perfumed, highly aromatic, pleasant. Downing gives "an excellent vinous flavor, delightfully perfumed," and Hedrick calls it "one of the few summer pears with a distinctly vinous flavor," "a most refreshing summer fruit." Thomas finds it "slightly vinous, exceedingly agreeable." Sweet in Bunyard ("fair sweet flavour"), George Bunyard & Co., and Hedrick's 1922 description. Rich (Veitch). Good flavor in the Veitch and Rivers catalogs.

Quality "very good" (Elliott, Downing, Budd and Hansen, Hedrick); Veitch calls it "a good pear."

Core and seeds: Core small, closed, with clasping core-lines; Hedrick says the fruits are "remarkable for their small cores." Seeds plump, acute (Hedrick).

Season

An early summer pear, ripening in August, from the middle of the month to the end of it. The recorded span runs from July, in George Bunyard & Co.'s catalog, which calls it very early, into September in Veitch's. Hedrick places it just before Clapp Favorite.

Downing says the fruit requires to be gathered early and does not continue long. Bunyard says it keeps better than most of its season, and Hedrick says the fruits keep well.

Uses

Dessert. Budd and Hansen call it widely grown for market. Hedrick calls it desirable for both home and commercial orchards, ripening "when good pears are in demand." George Bunyard & Co. call it "pretty good for standards and kitchen gardens."

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 8 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 20 catalogs (1849–1917) from California, England, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon

View original book sources (12)

BEURRE GIFFARD.

Beurré Gifford.

Foreign. Tree, moderate grower, long slender shoots, dark reddish, good bearer on Quince or Pear. Fruit, medium pyriform, yellowish green to pale yellow, red in sun, pale russet specks; stem, long, slender, curved; calyx, open; core, small; flesh, white, melting, juicy, vinous, "very good." Last of August.

— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)

5 BEURRÉ GIFFARD. [Syn : Giffard.]

This Pear was found as a wilding in 1825, by M. Nicolas Giffard, of Fonassières, near Angers, and it was first described by M. Millet in 1840.

Description.—Fruit : medium sized, pyriform, or turbinate. Skin : greenish yellow, mottled with red on the side next the sun. Eye : closed, set in a shallow basin. Stalk : an inch long, slender and obliquely inserted on the apex of the fruit. Flesh : white, melting and very juicy, with a vinous and highly aromatic flavour.

This is one of the very best early Pears, ripe the middle of August. The tree is hardy, grows freely, and bears well ; but it must grow against a wall, or its fruit will be smaller than that which is represented on the plate, and which was grown on the Cordon Wall at Holme Lacy.

— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)

Beurré Giffard.

Poire Giffard. Giffart.

A chance seedling, originated with M. Giffard, Angers, France. Tree of moderate growth, with slender reddish-colored shoots.

Fruit medium in size, pyriform, tapering to the stem, which is rather long. Skin greenish yellow, marbled with red on the sunny side. Calyx closed. Segments stiff, set in a very small basin. Flesh white, melting, juicy, with an excellent vinous flavor, delightfully perfumed. An early Pear of value, but requires to be gathered early, and does not continue long. Very good. Ripening middle of August.

— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)

Giffard.* Medium, pyriform, slightly Bosc-shaped, but shorter; skin greenish-yellow, marbled red on the sunny side; stalk rather long, calyx closed, basin small; flesh juicy, melting, slightly vinous, exceedingly agreeable. Middle of August. Shoots slender, reddish purple, growth straggling. Fig. 687. France.

— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)

Giffard (Beurre Giffard). — Medium to large, pyriform, tapering toward the stem; color greenish yellow, with marbling of red where exposed; stalk quite long, curved, and inserted at top of neck. Flesh white, melting, juicy, with a vinous flavor and pleasantly perfumed. Ripens early; very good. Widely grown for market. France.

— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)

BEURRE GIFFARD. Her. Pom. I., 26. G. Giffard's Butterbirne. Dessert, August, medium, pyriform tapering much to stem, a little even. Colour, pale yellow with brownish red flush, skin smooth. Flesh, white, melting, very juicy, fair sweet flavour. Eye, open on level. Stem, rather long and slender in a flat cavity surrounded with russet. Growth, rather weak, very straggling; fertility good. Leaf, small pointed, oval, upfolded, down hanging, margin entire or only faintly serrate. Origin, found wild by M. Nicolas Giffard, near Angers, France, in 1825. An excellent early fruit, keeping better than most of its season. It is extremely hardy and is successfully cultivated up to 1,200 metres in Switzerland. It succeeds as a standard.

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

BEURRÉ GIFFARD

are remarkable for their small cores. The trees, while in no way remarkable, are quite up to the average in all characters, and surpass most of their orchard associates in hardiness and fruitfulness. The variety is desirable for both home and commercial orchards.

This early summer pear was found as a chance seedling in 1825 by Nicolas Giffard, Foussières, France. In 1840, M. Millet, president of the Society of Horticulture of Maine-et-Loire, wrote the first description of it in the Bulletins of the Society. It was introduced in America about 1850, and in 1858 was added to the fruit catalog-list of the American Pomological Society.

Tree of medium size, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, hardy, productive; branches reddish-brown, nearly covered with gray scarf-skin, with long and narrow, large lenticels; branchlets slender, new growth willowy, long, reddish-brown, smooth, glabrous except near the tips of the new growth, with conspicuous, raised, round lenticels.

Leaf-buds small, short, pointed, appressed. Leaves 2½ in. long, 1¼ in. wide, stiff; apex taper-pointed; margin entire, sometimes slightly pubescent; petiole ¾ in. long, slender, reddish-green; stipules very long and slender. Flower-buds small, plump, free, singly on very short spurs; flowers showy, 1¼ in. across, in dense clusters, average 8 buds in a cluster; pedicels ¾ in. long, pubescent.

Fruit ripe in late August; variable in size, averages 3 in. long, 2½ in. wide, obovate-acute-pyriform; stem ¾ in. long; cavity lacking, the flesh closing up symmetrically around the stem except when drawn up in a lip; calyx open, small; lobes separated at the base, narrow, acuminate; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, almost smooth, symmetrical; skin thin, tender, smooth; color dull greenish-yellow, with a dotted, dull red blush, often without blush; dots numerous, small, greenish and russet, very conspicuous; flesh tinged with yellow, granular at the center, melting, very juicy, vinous, highly aromatic; quality very good. Core small, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube narrow, funnel-shaped; seeds plump, acute.

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

BEURRE GIFFARD. Giffard. This is one of the few summer pears with a distinctly vinous flavor, which, with the crisp but melting flesh makes it a most refreshing summer fruit. The pears are large, somewhat like those of Beurre Clairgeau in shape and color, and ripen at a time just before Clapp Favorite—when good pears are in demand. The fruits keep well and are remarkable for their small cores. The trees are quite up to the average in all characters, and surpass most of their orchard associates in hardiness and fruitfulness. This early summer pear was found as a chance seedling in 1825 by Nicolas Giffard, Foussieres, France. Tree of medium size, vigorous, very spreading, open-topped, hardy, productive; branches reddish-brown, with long, narrow, large lenticels. Leaves 2¼ inches long, 1½ inches wide, stiff; apex taper-pointed; margin almost entire, sometimes pubescent; petiole 2½ inches long, slender, reddish green; stipules very long and slender. Flowers showy, 1¼ inches across, in dense clusters, average 8 buds in a cluster. Fruit ripe in late August; averages 2½ inches long, 3 inches wide, obovate-acute-pyriform; stem ¾ inch long; cavity lacking, the flesh closing up symmetrically around the stem except when drawn up in a lip; calyx open, small; lobes separated at the base, narrow, acuminate; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, almost smooth, symmetrical; skin thin, tender, smooth; color dull greenish-yellow, with a slightly dotted, dull pinkish-red blush, but often without blush; dots numerous, small, greenish and russet, very conspicuous; flesh tinged with yellow, granular at the center, melting, very juicy, sweet, highly aromatic; quality very good; core small, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube narrow, funnel-shape; seeds plump, acute.

— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)

Planted Spring 1893. Tree a moderate grower. Fruit of medium size, pyriform, tapering to stem. Skin greenish yellow, with patches of red on the sunny side. Flesh white, juicy, melting, with a pleasant vinous flavour. Season August.

— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)

medium, melting, rich and juicy, good flavour, productive, a good pear Aug. & Sept.

— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)

July/Aug.; medium; yellow-green with a bronze and golden russet; flesh white, very juicy, buttery and sweet. Very early. Medium size; very productive; pretty good for standards and kitchen gardens.

— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Catalog of Fruit Trees (1914) (1914)

a very well coloured pear that has produced fine golden coloured fruit; good flavour

— Thomas Rivers & Son, Thomas Rivers Catalogue of Fruits (1914) (1914)
Beurré Gifford Giffard Giffard (Beurre Giffard) Giffard's Butter B Giffard's Butterbirne Giffart Poire Giffard Gifford: