Perpetual

Pear

Perpetual (Pear)

Origin/History

Originated on Long Island, New York. Disseminated by Messrs. Berckmans of Augusta, Georgia (Hedrick). Referenced in Downing's Fruits and Fruit Trees of America as early as 1869 (Hedrick). Also known as Beurré Perpetual (Thomas).

Tree

Vigorous (Downing). Bears two crops a year (Thomas).

Fruit

Size and Form: Medium. Obovate-obtuse-pyriform.

Stem, Cavity, Calyx, Basin: Not described in source.

Skin: Downing describes the ground color as greenish yellow with a slight tinge of red in the sun. Hedrick describes it as green and yellow, beautifully blushed in the sun.

Flesh/Flavor: Flesh whitish, firm, moderately juicy. Hedrick adds that it is sweet and rates it good.

Core/Seeds: Not described in source.

Season

Keeps until May.

Uses

A good cooking pear (Downing).

Subtypes/Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 3 period pomological works

View original book sources (3)

Perpetual.

Origin, Long Island, N. Y. Tree vigorous.

Fruit medium, obovate obtuse pyriform, greenish yellow, slight tinge of red in the sun. Flesh whitish, firm, moderately juicy. A good cooking Pear. Keeping to May.

— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)

Perpetual.

Downing Fr. Trees Am. 832. 1869.

Said to have originated on Long Island, N. Y. Disseminated by Messrs. Berckmans, Augusta, Ga. Fruit medium, obovate-obtuse-pyriform, green and yellow, beautifully blushed in the sun; flesh whitish, firm, moderately juicy, sweet; good; keeps till May.

— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)

Perpetual (Beurré Perpetual.) Medium, yellow, juicy. Bears two crops a year.

— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)

Beurré Perpetual