Castelline
PearCastelline
[NOTE: Source text may be incorrect — the Bunyard catalog entry is garbled ("Found by Van Meurs of a Nurseryman, now and a standard. Russets by Van Meurs of a Nurseryman"); only the legible portions are used.]
Origin / History
A Belgian pear obtained in 1835 by Florimond Castelain near Tournai, Belgium (Hedrick). Downing: "described by foreign authors as first quality, here it has only proved good." Bunyard's catalog entry reads "Found by Van Meurs of a Nurseryman."
Tree
Not described in source.
Fruit
Size: Medium (Downing, Hedrick). Bunyard's catalog gives "large, medium."
Form: Roundish obtuse pyriform (Downing); turbinate-pyriform (Hedrick).
Stem: Long, largest at junction with the tree, curved (Downing).
Cavity: Shallow.
Calyx: Open, with long recurved segments.
Basin: Shallow, uneven.
Skin: Pale greenish yellow, yellowish green, or pale yellow, with slight nettings and patches of russet; much covered with russet (Hedrick), or shaded with fine russet (Bunyard). Colored with dull red on the side of the sun (Hedrick).
Dots: Sprinkled with dots (Downing); speckled with fawn-russet (Hedrick).
Flesh and flavor: Yellowish, juicy, buttery, melting, sweet (Downing). Flesh semi-fine, melting; juice sugary, acidulous and agreeably perfumed (Hedrick). Quality "Good" (Downing); "first" (Hedrick).
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
October to December. Downing and Hedrick give November, Downing extending it through December; Bunyard's catalog alone gives October.
Uses
Bunyard: "pretty good for kitchen gardens, open ground and standards."
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Hedrick cites: Pom. France 4:151, Pl. 151, 1867; Leroy Dict. Pom. 1:532, fig., 1867; Guide Prat. 49, 1895.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 1 catalog (1900)
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
View original book sources (3)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Castelline.
A Belgian Pear, described by foreign authors as first quality, here it has only proved good.
Fruit medium, roundish obtuse pyriform, pale greenish yellow, with slight nettings and patches of russet, and sprinkled with dots. Stalk long, largest at junction with the tree, curved, set in a shallow cavity. Calyx open, with long recurved segments. Basin shallow, uneven. Flesh yellowish, juicy, buttery, melting, sweet. Good. November, December.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Castelline.
- Pom. France 4:151, Pl. 151. 1867.
- Leroy Dict. Pom. 1:532, fig. 1867.
- Guide Prat. 49. 1895.
A Belgian variety obtained in 1835 by Florimond Castelain near Tournai, Bel. Fruit medium, turbinate-pyriform, yellowish-green, much covered with russet and speckled with fawn-russet, colored with dull red on the side of the sun; flesh yellowish, semi-fine, melting; juice sugary, acidulous and agreeably perfumed; first; Nov.
— George Bunyard & Co., George Bunyard Catalog of Fruit Trees (1914) (1914)Oct.; large, medium; pale yellow with shading finely russet. These, medium sized; pretty good for kitchen gardens, open ground and standards. Found by Van Meurs of a Nurseryman, now and a standard. Russets by Van Meurs of a Nurseryman.