Duchesse D'Angoulême
Pear
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Duchesse D'Angoulême
Origin / History
French; "Foreign" (Elliott). The original tree was a wilding. Downing gives it as "said to be a natural seedling, found in a forest hedge near Angers," and Hedrick as growing in a garden near Angers, Maine-et-Loire. Bunyard has it a seedling found wild near Chateau Neuf, France, about 1808. Hovey has it found in a hedge at Anvers, near Paris, "upwards of thirty years ago."
About 1808 M. Audusson, a nurseryman at Angers, appreciated the beauty and excellent quality of the pear and obtained the right to propagate it. In 1812 he began selling trees under the name "Poire des Eparonnais." The pear was renamed in honor of the Duchesse D'Angoulême, daughter of Louis XVI (Bunyard). Hedrick says Audusson sent her a basket of the fruit in 1820 with a request for permission to name it for her, which was granted. Bunyard dates the renaming to 1819. At the 1830 exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Samuel G. Perkins showed a specimen measuring eleven and three-tenths inches. It was the only fruit on the tree and was considered the first of the variety produced in America. The American Pomological Society added Duchesse D'Angoulême to its catalog-list in 1862.
Hovey: "Few varieties of pears have attracted so much attention." He held that its immense size, great beauty, rich flavor, and the vigor, hardiness, and productiveness of the tree entitle it "to a place in the smallest collection." It had been "rapidly and widely disseminated," with few collections lacking one or more trees. The Pomological Magazine had called it "the very finest" of late autumn pears twenty years before. Many new kinds had been introduced since, yet Hovey knew of no variety of the same season, except Swan's Orange, that would surpass it for general cultivation. Downing calls it "a magnificent large dessert Pear," and Veitch "one of the finest pears." Hedrick says the fruits "excite admiration and wonder by their enormous size."
Its reliability has long been questioned. Hovey records that some cultivators pronounced it a variable fruit, "sometimes excellent, but oftener wanting in flavor, and only to be considered a good pear." He believed this held only when it was grown in unfavorable soil or locality, or when the fruit had not been produced in its best condition. Elliott calls it "an extremely variable fruit, unreliable," valuable for market on the quince only, and says it succeeds well at the Southwest. Downing finds its quality "a little uncertain on young standard trees." Bunyard calls it "rather uncertain in quality, but when all conditions are favourable … often of the highest merit." Hedrick calls it the favorite dwarf pear for garden and home orchard, more popular in New York than in any other part of America. He says it was less planted than formerly but still regarded as a standard late autumn variety and "a particularly desirable sort for the pear-fancier."
Tree
Vigorous, a strong grower, hardy, healthy, productive. Bunyard alone gives growth as moderate. Hedrick calls it slow-growing and "usually hardy." Medium in size (Hedrick); Bunyard gives a small, compact, upright tree. Habit upright and stocky, erect, upright-spreading, dense-topped. Hovey gives lateral branches ascending at very acute angles, and annual shoots long and straight. On either stock it makes a beautiful, symmetrical pyramid.
Trunk thick. Branches stocky, shaggy, zigzag, dull reddish-brown overspread with scarf-skin, marked with small lenticels. Branchlets thick, short, dull light brown streaked with gray scarf-skin, smooth, glabrous, with many small raised lenticels (Hedrick). Shoots upright, reddish yellow brown (Downing). Hovey gives the young wood brownish yellow, thickly dotted with large prominent whitish specks, stout, rather long-jointed, and the old wood yellowish olive.
Leaf-buds medium, long, slender, sharply pointed, diverging (Hovey); small, short, conical, pointed, nearly free (Hedrick). Leaf-scars prominent. Leaves ovate to oval, broadest in the middle, shortly or taper-pointed, slightly wavy, thick, leathery, bright shining green, finely nerved. Margin entire, nearly entire, crenate, or very shallowly and widely crenate, marked with minute dark brown glands. Leaves medium (Hovey) or small (Bunyard). Hedrick measures them 2⅝ inches long by 1⅜ wide, petiole 1⅛ inches; his Cyclopedia gives 2½ by 1½, petiole 1½. Hovey gives the petiole medium length, about 1¼ inches, rather slender.
Flower-buds medium, ovate, with somewhat woolly scales (Hovey). Hedrick gives them large, long, conical, plump, free, borne singly or in small clusters on short branches and spurs, 7 or 8 buds to a cluster. Flowers medium, petals narrow, oblong, nearly flat (Hovey); 1⅜ inches across (Hedrick; 1½ in his Cyclopedia). Pedicels 1 inch long, slender, lightly pubescent, greenish.
Comes into bearing early on pear or quince stock; bears regularly and abundantly under favorable conditions. Fertility great (Bunyard); an excellent bearer (Veitch). At Agassiz, B.C., trees planted spring 1890 proved strong growers and free bearers.
Succeeds as standard or dwarf. In America it is more often worked on the dwarfing quince, and Hedrick says it is "possibly" best grown as a dwarf. Thomas says it is mostly grown as a dwarf and "succeeds admirably and is best on quince stock." Elliott recommends it "on the Quince, and on the Quince only." Hovey says it grows admirably on quince, forming fine specimens at four or five years. He also calls it a fine variety for espaliers or walls; "a trained tree, with a full crop, is one of the most attractive objects of the fruit garden." Elliott says high culture produces very large and very good fruit. Budd and Hansen find quality "varied much by climate and soil."
Fruit
Size: Large to very large, often enormous; uniform in size (Hedrick). Hovey gives about 4 inches long by 3½ in diameter, with an ordinary weight of twelve to sixteen ounces. His figured specimen weighed upwards of twenty ounces and grew on a dwarf tree four or five years old. Downing gives specimens sometimes weighing a pound and a quarter. Bunyard measures 4 by 4 inches, Hedrick 4 inches long by 3 wide (3½ by 2¾ in his Cyclopedia). Size shrinks when poorly grown. Without high culture Elliott finds it "indifferent in size or character."
Form: Oblong-obovate to oblong-obovate-pyriform, oblong pyriform, squat or very obtuse-pyriform. Hovey gives roundish oblong, tapering little to the stem, where it is very obtuse; Bunyard alone calls it round conical. Surface uneven, very uneven and knobby, with sides often unequal. Hedrick says it "may always be known by" its great size, squat pyriform shape, and uneven knobby surface.
Stem: One to two inches long; Elliott calls it rather long, Hovey medium, about an inch. Very stout, thick, fleshy, bent or curved; thick and large where it joins the branch (Hovey).
Cavity: Deep, round or irregular, acute, furrowed, often lipped, often wide, the stem deeply sunk. Bunyard alone gives a slight cavity, or the stem set on the level.
Calyx: Small to medium. Hovey calls it closed, Elliott and Hedrick partly open, Bunyard open. Segments short, narrow, acute, incurved, stiff. Calyx-tube short, wide, conical (Hedrick).
Basin: Medium to deep, abrupt, uneven, somewhat knobby, much furrowed, often corrugated.
Skin: Thick, granular, roughened with russet (Hedrick), rough (Bunyard); Hovey alone gives fair and smooth. Dull greenish yellow, greenish yellow, yellowish green, or dull yellow; rich deep yellow when mature, often tinged with blush on the sunny side (Hovey). Often some russet (Thomas), or a good deal streaked, spotted, traced, and netted with dull russet, with scattered irregular russet patches. Of great beauty; "extremely handsome" (Veitch).
Dots: Numerous, large, conspicuous, russet, regularly sprinkled over the whole surface.
Flesh and flavor: Flesh white or nearly white; yellowish-white (Thomas). Fine, buttery, melting to very melting, juicy to very juicy. Hedrick gives it firm and granular, becoming somewhat melting and quite tender when fully mature. Flavor rich to very rich, sweet to extremely sweet, saccharine, perfumed, "fine aromatic aroma" (Bunyard), delicious. Poorly grown or on unfavorable soils, the flesh is granular, coarse-grained, but half-melting, "nearly devoid of the richness" of well-grown fruit (Hedrick). Thomas reports the remark that under four ounces it is "worthless in flavor."
Quality good to very good, with "very good" the common verdict (Elliott, Downing, Budd and Hansen). Hedrick gives "good to very good," and the Agassiz station "good." Hovey calls the flavor "excellent." Downing gives "a most delicious fruit of the highest quality" "when in perfection." Thomas gives "good when well grown, poor or worthless when small."
Core and seeds: Core medium (Hovey) or below medium (Elliott); closed, with clasping core-lines (Hedrick). Seeds medium and plump (Hovey), oblong pyriform (Elliott), or small, narrow, flat, acute, very often abortive (Hedrick).
Season
The recorded season runs from October into December, a late autumn pear. Most authors give October, or October and November; Thomas gives mid-autumn and later, Bunyard October to December. Hovey says it keeps well. Budd and Hansen alone give July.
Uses
A dessert pear (Downing, Bunyard). Valuable for market on the quince (Elliott); commercial orchards of dwarfed trees are not uncommon (Hedrick). Good for forcing (Veitch). A small fruit is "seldom fit for dessert and too insipid for a good product in cookery" (Hedrick).
Subtypes / Variants
The striped Duchess d'Angoulême, which according to Elliott differs only in the fruit being striped yellow and green.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 8 period pomological works
- Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)
- Hovey, The Fruits of America (1852)
- Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903) — listed as Angoulême
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)
- Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)
- Budd & Hansen, Systematic Pomology (1914) — listed as Angoulême, Duchesse d'Angoulême
- Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920) — listed as DUCHESS D'ANGOULEME
- Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865) — listed as Duchess d'Angouleme
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 74 catalogs (1845–1921) from Alabama, Arkansas, California, England, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington
- Winship's Nursery (Brighton Nurseries , operated by the Winship family), Brighton (Boston) , Massachusetts — 1845
- Hovey & Co. , Cambridge , Massachusetts — 1849
- Azell Bowditch (Nursery / Fruit Catalog) , Boston , Massachusetts — 1850
- Joseph Breck & Co. , Boston , Massachusetts — 1855 — listed as Duchess d'Angouleme
- St. Helena Nursery , Howell Prairie, Marion County, OR (Marion Co., Ogn.) — 1864 — listed as Duchess d'Angouleme
- Hutchison Nursery , James Hutchison, Oakland , California — 1881 — listed as Angouleme
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1884 — listed as Angouleme
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1884
- Fancher Creek Nursery , Fresno , California — 1886
- Huntsville Wholesale Nurseries (Jessie S. Moss , Proprietor; W.F. Heikes, Manager), Huntsville , Alabama — 1886
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1888 — listed as Angouleme
- California Nursery Co. , Niles , California — 1889 — listed as Angouleme
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1889 — listed as Angouleme
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1890 — listed as Angouleme
- William H. Moon Co. , Morrisville, Bucks County , Pennsylvania — 1890
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1891 — listed as Angouleme
- Puyallup & Yakima Nurseries , Puyallup, Washington (Lock Box 191) and North Yakima , Washington — 1892
- Sherwood Hall Nursery Co. , Timothy Hopkins (Menlo Park Nurseries), San Francisco / Menlo Park , California — 1893 — listed as Angouleme
- Oregon Wholesale Nurseries , Salem , Oregon — 1893 — listed as Duchess d'Angouleme
- Glen St. Mary Nurseries (G.L. Taber , Proprietor), Glen St. Mary , Florida — 1893
- Rogers Nursery Co. , Moorestown , New Jersey — 1893
- Milwaukie-Canby Nurseries , Canby, OR (and Milwaukie, OR) — 1893
- The Vineland Nurseries (Kelsey & Co. , Proprietors), St. Joseph, Missouri (Office: 13th and Atchison Sts., 2 Blocks East of the Citizens St. Car Line) — 1894
- Woodburn Nurseries , Woodburn, Marion Co. , Oregon — 1894
- Multnomah Nurseries , Russellville , Oregon — 1894
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1895 — listed as Angouleme
- The Lovett Company , Little Silver , New Jersey — 1896
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1896
- Felix Gillet , Barren Hill Nursery, Nevada City , California — 1897 — listed as Angouleme
- Kelway & Son , Langport, Somerset , England — 1897
- Arthur J. Collins & Sons , Moorestown , New Jersey — 1898
- J.V. Cotta (Cotta Nursery) , Carroll County , Illinois — 1898
- Reading Nursery , Jacob W. Manning, Proprietor, Reading , Massachusetts — 1898
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1898
- Brown Brothers Co. , Continental Nurseries, Rochester, NY (also operated from Toronto, Canada) — 1899
- Alabama Nursery Co. , Huntsville , Alabama — 1900 — listed as Angouleme
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900 — listed as Angouleme
- Alabama Nursery Co. , Huntsville , Alabama — 1900
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
- S.L. Watkins , Grizzly Flats, El Dorado County , California — 1901 — listed as Angouleme
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901 — listed as Angouleme
- Washington Nursery Co. , Toppenish , Washington — 1901
- Brown Brothers Co. , Continental Nurseries, Rochester, NY (also operated from Toronto, Canada) — 1901
- Mountain Grove Nurseries (Tippin & Moore , Proprietors; Geo. T. Tippin, J. W. Tippin, J. C. Moore), Mountain Grove , Missouri — 1901
- Yarbrough Bros. , Stephens , Arkansas — 1901
- Pacific Nursery Company (W. O. Hudson & A. D. Hudson) , Tangent , Oregon — 1903
- Phoenix Nursery Company (W. E. Rossney , President; Sidney Tuttle, Vice-President), Bloomington , Illinois — 1904
- The Dalles Nurseries , The Dalles , Oregon — 1906
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1906
- Wm. J. Corse (successor to Robert Sinclair / Sinclair Nurseries) , Baltimore , Maryland — 1909
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1909
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1910
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1910
- Galbraith Nursery Co. (DeWitt Hansen , Pres.-Mgr.), Fairbury , Nebraska — 1911
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1911
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1911
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
- Ballygreen Nurseries , Hanford , Washington — 1912
- Pacific Nursery Company , Portland , Oregon — 1912
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1912
- Vineland Nurseries Company , Clarkston , Washington — 1912
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1912
- Samuel Fraser , Geneseo , New York — 1913
- Van Holderbeke Nursery Co. , Incorporated, Spokane, Washington (nurseries at Otis Orchards WA, Pasadena WA, Kennewick WA) — 1913
- Thomas Rivers & Son , Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire , England — 1913
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1914
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1915
- Holsinger Bros. Nurseries (Holsinger Brothers Nursery) , Rosedale , Kansas — 1916 — listed as Angouleme
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1916
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1917
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917
- Oregon Nursery Co. , Orenco , Oregon — 1920
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon , Washington — 1921
View original book sources (10)
— C.M. Hovey, The Fruits of America (1852)THE DUCHESSE OF ANGOULEME PEAR.
Duchesse of Angouleme. Pomological Magazine, vol. ii. pl. 76.
Few varieties of pears have attracted so much attention as the Duchesse of Angouleme. The immense size of the fruit, — its great beauty and rich flavor, — as well as the vigor, hardiness, and productiveness of the tree, have given it a character which entitles it to a place in the smallest collection. Some cultivators, we are aware, have pronounced it a variable fruit, sometimes excellent, but oftener wanting in flavor, and only to be considered a good pear. But we are inclined to believe this character has only been applied to it when grown in an unfavorable soil or locality, or when, from some cause, the fruit has not been produced in its best condition. The Pomological Magazine, above quoted, describes it as " the very finest" of late autumn pears, and though this was twenty years ago, since which time many new kinds have been introduced, we know of no variety of the same season, except Swan's Orange, which for general cultivation will surpass it.
The Duchesse of Angouleme was originally found growing in a hedge, at Anvers, near Paris, upwards of thirty years ago ; but since its introduction it has been rapidly and widely disseminated, and there are few collections which do not contain one or more trees. The fruit often grows to a very large size ; its ordinary weight is from twelve to sixteen ounces ; but the specimen which our drawing so beautifully represents, weighed upwards of twenty ounces, and grew upon a dwarf tree only four or five years old.
The tree is of upright and stocky habit, and makes a beautiful and symmetrical pyramid, growing admirably upon the quince, and forming fine specimens at the age of four or five years. It is also a fine variety for espaliers or walls ; and a trained tree, with a full crop, is one of the most attractive objects of the fruit garden. It comes into bearing early, either upon the pear or quince stock.
Tree. — Vigorous, upright and erect, the lateral branches ascending at very acute angles ; annual shoots long and straight.
Wood. — Brownish yellow, thickly dotted with large prominent whitish specks, stout and rather long-jointed ; old wood yellowish olive ; buds, medium size, long, slender, and sharply pointed, diverging : Flower-buds, medium size, ovate, with somewhat wooly scales.
Leaves. — Medium size, ovate, broadest in the middle, shortly pointed, slightly wavy, of a bright shining green, finely nerved, and nearly entire on the edge ; petioles medium length, about one and a quarter inches long, and rather slender.
Flowers. — Medium size ; petals narrow, oblong, nearly flat.
Fruit. — Very large, about four inches long and three and a half in diameter : Form, roundish oblong, tapering little to the stem, where it is very obtuse, with a very uneven and knobby surface : Skin, fair, smooth, rich deep yellow when mature, often tinged with blush on the sunny side, with several scattered irregular russety patches, and the whole surface regularly sprinkled with large russety specks : Stem, medium length, about an inch long, thick and large where it adjoins the branch, and deeply sunk in a round cavity : Eye, rather small, closed, and deeply sunk in a much furrowed basin ; segments of the calyx short, incurved, stiff : Flesh, white, fine, melting, buttery, and juicy : Flavor, rich, saccharine, perfumed, and excellent : Core, medium size : Seeds, medium size, plump.
Ripe in October and November, and keeps well.
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Duchess d'Angouleme.
Foreign. A valuable variety for market, on the Quince, and on the Quince only. It succeeds well at the Southwest. High culture of this variety produces very large and very good fruit, otherwise it is indifferent in size or character. Fruit, large, oblong obovate pyriform, dull greenish yellow, traced and dotted with russet ; stem, rather long, stout ; calyx, medium, partly open; basin, deep, uneven ; core, below medium ; seeds, oblong pyriform; flesh, white, buttery, juicy : "very good." An extremely variable fruit, unreliable. October. The striped Duchess d'Angouleme differs only in the fruit being striped yellow and green.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Duchesse d'Angoulême.
Beurré Soulé.
A magnificent large dessert Pear, sometimes weighing a pound and a quarter, named in honor of the Duchess of Angoulême, and said to be a natural seedling, found in a forest hedge near Angers. When in perfection, it is a most delicious fruit of the highest quality. We are compelled to add, however, that the quality of the fruit is a little uncertain on young standard trees. The tree is a strong grower, the shoots upright, reddish yellow brown.
Fruit very large, oblong obovate, with an uneven, somewhat knobby surface. Skin dull greenish yellow, a good deal streaked and spotted with russet. Stalk one to two inches long, very stout, bent, deeply planted in an irregular cavity. Calyx set in a somewhat knobby basin. Flesh white, buttery, and very juicy, with a rich and very excellent flavor. Very good. October.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Angoulême.* (Duchess.) Very large, very obtuse-pyriform, sometimes oblong-obovate, surface uneven; greenish-yellow, often some russet; stalk an inch to an inch and a half long, very stout; cavity deep, often wide; calyx small, basin uneven; flesh yellowish-white, melting, buttery, juicy, good when well grown, poor or worthless when small; succeeds admirably and is best on quince stock. It has been remarked that when this pear weighs less than four ounces it is worthless in flavor. Ripens mid-autumn and later. French. Mostly grown as a dwarf. Fig. 696.
[Additional entry in this volume: "Duchesse", pp. 790–790]
Duchesse. See Angoulême.
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Angoulême, Duchesse d'Angoulême. — Very large, oblong obovate, with uneven knobby surface; color greenish yellow, with many streaks and spots of russet; stalk one to two inches long, stout, curved, inserted in deep irregular cavity. Flesh white, buttery, melting, juicy, with very rich flavor, very good; quality varied much by climate and soil. Season, July. France.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)DUCHESS D'ANGOULEME. Her. Pom., II., 66. G. Herzogin d'Angoulême. (Des Eparonnais, Duchess.) Dessert, October to December, large, often enormous, 4 by 4, round conical, uneven. Skin, rough. Colour, yellowish green marked with conspicuous russet dots and patches. Flesh, nearly white, very melting, juicy fine aromatic aroma, extremely sweet. Eye, open in a deep, uneven basin. Stem, very stout and fleshy in a slight cavity or on level. Growth, moderate, upright, spreading; fertility great. Leaf, small, oval, entire or very shallowly and widely crenate. Origin, a seedling found wild near Chateau Neuf, France, about 1808. It was introduced by M. Audusson, a nurseryman of Angers, as Poire des Eparonnais, but renamed in 1819 in honour of the Duchess d'Angoulême, daughter of Louis XVI. This fruit is rather uncertain in quality, but when all conditions are favourable is often of the highest merit. It makes a small, compact and upright tree.
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)DUCHESSE D'ANGOULÊME
- Kenrick Am. Orch. 171. 1832. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 381. 1845. 3. Ann. Pom. Belge 1:21, Pl. 1853. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 68. 1862. 5. Pom. France 1: No. 17, Pl. 17. 1863. 6. Mas Le Verger 3: Pt. 2, 79, fig. 136. 1866-73. 7. Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:98, figs. 1869. 8. Jour. Hort. N. S. 24:26. 1873. 9. Guide Prat. 59, 267. 1876. 10. Hist. Mass. Hort. Soc. 1829-78. 224. 1880. 11. Hogg Fruit Man. 569. 1884.
Duchess of Angouleme. 12. Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 371. 1831. Angouleme. 13. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1883. Herzogin von Angouleme. 14. Gaucher Pom. Prak. Obst. No. 46, Pl. 43. 1894.
The fruits of Duchesse d'Angoulême excite admiration and wonder by their enormous size. They may always be known by their great size, squat pyriform shape, and uneven knobby surfaces. Well grown, the pears have other virtues than size, as the flesh is buttery and melting with a rich and delicious flavor; but poorly grown, and on unfavorable soils, the flesh is granular, coarse-grained, but half-melting and nearly devoid of the richness that characterizes the fruits in happier situations. Size shrinks also when poorly grown, so that one may say that a small pear of this variety is seldom fit for dessert and too insipid for a good product in cookery. The trees are vigorous, hardy, and healthy, bear abundantly under favorable conditions, and succeed either as a standard or a dwarf. Possibly it is best grown as a dwarf, and in America at least is more often worked on the dwarfing quince than on the pear. In fact, this variety is the favorite dwarf-pear for garden and home orchard, and commercial orchards of dwarfed trees of it are not uncommon. On either stock, the tree makes a beautiful, symmetrical pyramid, comes in bearing early, and bears regularly. This variety is more popular in New York than in any other part of America, and while less planted than formerly, is still regarded as a standard late autumn variety. It is a particularly desirable sort for the pear-fancier.
The original tree of Duchesse d'Angoulême was a wilding growing in a garden near Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France. About 1808, M. Audusson, a nurseryman at Angers, appreciating the beauty and excellent quality of the pear, obtained the right to propagate it. In 1812 he began selling trees of the variety under the name of "Poire des Eparonnais." In 1820, M. Audusson sent a basket of the fruit to the Duchesse d'Angoulême with a request for permission to name the pear in her honor, a request which was granted. At the exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society held in 1830, Samuel G. Perkins showed a specimen which measured eleven and three-tenths inches. It was the only one that grew on the tree, and was considered to be the first fruit of this variety produced in America. The American Pomological Society added Duchesse d'Angoulême to its catalog-list of fruits in 1862.
Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, slow-growing, usually hardy, productive; trunk thick; branches stocky, shaggy, zigzag, dull reddish-brown overspread with scarf-skin, marked with small lenticels; branchlets thick, short, dull light brown, streaked with gray scarf-skin, smooth, glabrous, with many small, raised lenticels.
Leaf-buds small, short, conical, pointed, nearly free; leaf-scars prominent. Leaves 2⅝ in. long, 1⅜ in. wide, oval, thick, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin marked with minute dark brown glands, crenate or nearly entire; petiole 1⅛ in. long. Flower-buds large, long, conical, plump, free, arranged singly or in small clusters on short branches and spurs; flowers 1⅜ in. across, 7 or 8 buds in each cluster; pedicels 1 in. long, slender, lightly pubescent, greenish.
Fruit ripe October to November; large, often very large, 4 in. long, 3 in. wide, uniform in size, oblong-obovate-pyriform, with irregular and uneven surface and with sides often unequal; stem frequently 1½ in. long, very thick, curved; cavity acute, deep, furrowed, irregular, often lipped; calyx partly open, small; lobes short, narrow, acute; basin medium to deep, abrupt, furrowed and uneven, often corrugated; skin thick, granular, roughened with russet; color dull yellow, streaked, spotted and netted with dull russet; dots numerous, russet, conspicuous; flesh white, firm becoming somewhat melting and quite tender when fully mature, granular, juicy, sweet, rich and delicious when fully mature; quality good to very good. Core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds small, narrow, flat, acute, very often abortive.
— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)DUCHESSE D'ANGOULÈME. Fig. 82. Angouleme. The fruits of Duchesse d'Angouleme excite admiration and wonder by their enormous size. They may always be known by their size, squat pyriform shape, and uneven knobby surface. Well grown, the flesh is buttery and melting with a rich and delicious flavor; but poorly grown, and on unfavorable soils, the flesh is granular, coarse-grained, but half-melting, and nearly devoid of the richness that characterizes the fruits in happier situations. The trees are vigorous, hardy and healthy, bear abundantly under favorable conditions, and succeed either as standards or dwarfs. Possibly this sort is best grown as a dwarf, and in America at least is more often worked on the dwarfing quince than on the pear. This variety is the favorite dwarf pear for garden and home orchard, and commercial orchards of dwarfed trees are not uncommon. On either stock, the tree makes a beautiful and symmetrical pyramid, and comes in bearing early and bears regularly. This variety is more popular in New York than in any other part of America, and while less planted than formerly, is still regarded as a standard late autumn variety. The original tree of Duchesse d'Angouleme was a wilding growing in a garden near Angers, France. It was introduced about 1812. Tree vigorous, upright, becoming spreading, dense-topped, slow-growing, productive; branches stocky, shaggy, zigzag, dull reddish-brown, marked with small lenticels. Leaves 2½ inches long, 1½ inches wide, oval, thick, leathery; apex taper-pointed; margin marked with minute dark brown glands, crenate, or nearly entire; petiole 1½ inches long. Flowers 1½ inches across, 7 or 8 buds in each cluster. Fruit ripe October-November; large, often very large, 3½ inches long, 2¾ inches wide, uniform in size, oblong-obovate-pyriform with irregular and uneven surface and with sides often unequal; stem 1½ inches long, very thick, curved; cavity acute, deep, furrowed, irregular, often lipped; calyx partly open, small; lobes short, narrow, acute; basin medium to deep, abrupt, furrowed and uneven, often corrugated; skin thick, granular, roughened with russet; color dull yellow, streaked, spotted and netted with dull russet; dots numerous, russet, conspicuous; flesh white, firm, melting, tender, granular, juicy, sweet, rich and delicious; quality good to very good; core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds small, narrow, flat, acute, often abortive.
— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)Planted Spring 1890. Tree a strong grower and free bearer. Fruit large, oblong, pyriform. Skin greenish yellow. Flesh white, juicy, buttery, quality good. Season October.
— James Veitch & Sons, Veitch's Fruit Trees (1911) (1911)very large and extremely handsome melting. One of the finest pears, tree vigorous and hardy, excellent bearer, good for forcing Oct. & Nov.