Chypre
PearOrigin & History
An ancient pear of uncertain origin. It was described by Merlet in 1675 and was cultivated even earlier by Le Lectier in his garden at Orleans, probably originating at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The etymology is uncertain—whether the name derives from the Island of Cyprus or the cypress tree remains unclear.
Historical sources present conflicting views on this variety's identity. Duhamel (1768), Poiteau (1848), and Dr. Hogg (1884) regarded it as synonymous with Early Rousselet, though Leroy treated it as a separate variety.
Tree
Not described in source.
Fruit
Size & Form: Small, globular-turbinate.
Skin: Bright grayish-green, stained with brownish-red on the side of the sun.
Flesh: Dense, rather coarse, semi-breaking.
Flavor: Juice abundant, vinous, sugary, with a perfume recalling cinnamon.
Stem, Cavity, Calyx, Basin, Seeds/Core: Not described in source.
Season
July and August.
Subtypes & Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Rated first as an early pear.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
View original book sources (1)
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Chypre.
i. Leroy Diet. Pom. 1:561, fig. 1867. 2. Hogg Fruit Man. 571. 1884.
Duhamel in 1768, Poiteau in 1848 and Dr. Hogg in 1884 make this pear synonymous with Early Rousselet. Leroy regards it as a separate variety. It is an ancient pear of uncertain origin. It was described by Merlet in 1675 and was cultivated even earlier by Le Lectier in his garden at Orleans. Probably it originated at the beginning of the seventeenth century, but whether it took its name from the Island of Cyprus or the cypress tree seems uncertain. Fruit small, globular-turbinate, bright grayish-green, stained with brownish-red on the side of the sun; flesh dense, rather coarse, semi-breaking; juice abundant, vinous, sugary, with a perfume recalling cinnamon; first as an early pear; July and Aug.