Hormead's Pearmain
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Hormead's Pearmain
Origin / History
An English variety, supposed to have been raised at Hormead, Hertfordshire. Received at the Royal Horticultural Society's garden in 1826 (Bunyard). Was but little grown in America at the time of Downing's writing.
Tree
Growth vigorous; extremely fertile (Bunyard). Leaves rather large, narrow, pale, nearly flat, widely and bluntly serrate (Bunyard).
Fruit
Size: A little above medium (Bunyard); medium (Downing). Bunyard gives dimensions of 3 inches wide by 3¾ inches tall.
Form: Roundish or nearly roundish conical (Downing); round, conical, flattened at the top (Bunyard).
Stem: Medium, slender (Downing); short, set in a shallow cavity (Bunyard). The two sources conflict on stem length.
Cavity: Russeted (Downing). Bunyard describes the cavity as shallow but does not comment on russeting.
Calyx: Nearly closed (Downing). Bunyard describes the eye as open — the two sources are in direct conflict on this point.
Basin: Shallow, corrugated (Downing). Bunyard describes the basin as shallow and even — the two sources conflict on whether the basin is corrugated or smooth.
Skin: Pale yellow (Downing); pale yellow-green with an occasional slight brown-red flush (Bunyard). Moderately sprinkled with gray dots (Downing); many conspicuous large dots (Bunyard). The sources agree on the presence of dots but differ on their number and prominence.
Flesh / Flavor: White (Downing); yellowish-white, the yellow tinge especially pronounced under the skin (Bunyard). Firm and short in texture (Bunyard); crisp and tender (Downing). Juicy, brisk subacid (Downing). Quality rated good to very good (Downing).
Core / Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
November–December (Downing); November–March (Bunyard).
Uses
A very useful fruit (Bunyard). Bunyard characterizes it as a smaller Hambling's Seedling.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 5 catalogs (1900–1917) from England
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
- James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
- George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917
View original book sources (2)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)HORMEAD PEARMAIN.
Arundel Pearmain. Hormead Pippin.
An English variety, yet but little grown in this country.
Fruit medium, roundish, or nearly roundish conical, pale yellow, moderately sprinkled with gray dots. Stalk medium, slender. Cavity russeted. Calyx nearly closed. Basin shallow, corrugated. Flesh white, crisp, tender, juicy, brisk subacid. Good to very good. November, December.
— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)HORMEAD PEARMAIN. (Corby Seedling.) November to March, a little above medium, size 3 by 3¾, round, conical, flattened at top. Colour, pale yellow-green, occasional slight brown-red flush, many conspicuous large dots. Flesh, firm, short, yellowish-white, especially under the skin. Eye, open, in a shallow even basin. Stem, short in a shallow cavity. Growth, vigorous; extremely fertile. Leaf, rather large, narrow, pale, nearly flat, widely and bluntly serrate. Origin, this was received at the Royal Horticultural Society's garden in 1826, and is supposed to have been raised at Hormead, Herts. A very useful fruit; a smaller Hambling's Seedling.