Henri Desportes
PearHenri Desportes (Pear)
Origin/History
Raised by Leroy at Angers, France; a seedling of André Leroy's raising. First fruited in 1862. Referenced in Leroy's Dictionnaire de Pomologie (2:276, 1869) and in Downing (1869).
Tree
Not described in source.
Fruit
Size: Large, or occasionally below large (Hedrick).
Form: Downing describes the shape as pyriform. Hedrick gives a more detailed and somewhat differing characterization: turbinate-obtuse, ventriculous, strongly bossed, generally irregular and considerably less curved on one side than the other. [The two accounts diverge on form: Downing's "pyriform" implies a standard pear shape, while Hedrick's "turbinate-obtuse, strongly bossed, irregular" suggests a more top-shaped, uneven, knobby fruit.]
Stem: Not described in source.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Thick; orange-yellow, dotted with gray-russet; slightly vermilioned on the side exposed to the sun (Hedrick).
Flesh/Flavor: Flesh white, fine, very melting; juice abundant, vinous, and sugary (Hedrick). Downing describes the flesh as white and juicy, calling it one of the best summer pears.
Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
August.
Uses
A table pear of the first quality; regarded by Downing as one of the best summer pears.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
View original book sources (2)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Henri Desportes.
A seedling of Andre Leroy's.
Fruit large, pyriform. Flesh white, juicy, one of the best summer Pears. (Leroy.)
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)Henri Desportes.
- Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:276, fig. 1869.
- Downing Fr. Trees Am. 782. 1869.
Raised by Leroy, Angers, Fr., it fruited first in 1862. Fruit large or below, turbinate-obtuse, ventriculous, strongly bossed, generally irregular and much less curved on one side than the other; skin thick, orange-yellow dotted with gray-russet, slightly vermilioned on the side next the sun; flesh white, fine, very melting; juice abundant, vinous, sugary; first; Aug.