Petit Muscat, Little Musk
PearPetit Muscat, Little Musk
Origin & Historical Record
Documented in William Coxe's A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817). The variety is also known as the Primitive Pear.
Tree Characteristics
The tree form resembles the Catharine pear. Does not produce fruit at an early age, but once established at proper maturity becomes an abundant and reliable bearer.
Fruit
Form & Structure: Grows in clusters. The form is round rather than long. The stalk is short.
Color: When fully ripe, the skin is yellow with a portion of reddish brown on the cheek exposed to the sun.
Flavor & Palatability: If not harvested too ripe, the fruit is a pleasant pear. The juice is notably musky in character—this aromatic quality is the defining sensory feature of the variety.
Season & Harvest
Ripens from the first to the tenth of July (Northern Hemisphere, period sourcing).
Editorial Note: This description is preserved from a single period source and lacks detail on fruit size, flesh texture, core structure, and storage properties. Identification of living trees or fruit should prioritize the distinctive round form, short stem, clustered growth, and musky juice character as primary markers.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
View original book sources (1)
— William Coxe, A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees (1817)
- PETIT MUSCAT, LITTLE MUSK, OR PRIMITIVE PEAR.
This pear grows in clusters; the form is round rather than long; the stalk short, and when fully ripe the skin is yellow, with a portion of reddish brown on the cheek next the sun. If not too ripe, it is a pleasant pear; the juice somewhat musky—the form of the tree resembles the Catharine; it does not produce fruit early, but when it has attained the proper age, is an abundant bearer—it ripens from the first to the tenth of July.