Prince Napoleon

Pear

Prince Napoleon (Pear)

Origin/History

Raised by M. Boisbunel, Rouen, France, from seed of the Passe Crassane in 1864 (Hedrick). Downing lists it as introduced by M. Boisbunel, Rouen, France, without specifying the parentage or date.

Tree

Tree moderately vigorous and very productive (Downing). Young wood dull brown, slightly reddish (Downing). Further tree characteristics not described in either source.

Fruit

Size: Medium, and sometimes above medium (Hedrick; Downing agrees on medium).

Form: Roundish, slightly pyriform (Downing). Globular, rarely regular, and often mammillate at the top (Hedrick). The two sources agree on a broadly rounded form; Hedrick's description emphasizes irregularity and a nipple-like apex.

Stem: Short, stout (Downing). Not described in Hedrick.

Cavity: Not described in either source.

Calyx: Not described in either source.

Basin: Not described in either source.

Skin: The two sources differ on ground color. Downing describes the skin as dull greenish, much shaded with thin brown russet and russet patches. Hedrick describes it as olive-yellow, covered largely with mottlings of brown and sprinkled with indistinct gray dots. Both agree on a substantial brown overlay; they differ on whether the ground is dull greenish (Downing) or olive-yellow (Hedrick).

Flesh/Flavor: Greenish white, fine, juicy, sweet, and perfumed (Downing). White-greenish or yellowish, semi-fine, semi-melting; juice sufficient, saccharine, vinous, with a delicate perfume; rated first quality (Hedrick). Both sources agree on a pale flesh with a distinctive perfume. Downing's "fine" texture and Hedrick's "semi-fine, semi-melting" represent a mild disagreement on texture refinement.

Core/Seeds: Not described in either source.

Season

December (Downing, citing Vergniaud). February and March (Hedrick). The two sources are in direct conflict on ripening season; the discrepancy may reflect difference in climate, storage behavior, or distinct strains.

Uses

Not described in either source.

Subtypes/Variants

Not described in either source.

Other

Not described in either source.

Book Sources

Described in 2 period pomological works

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 1 catalog (1900)

Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900

View original book sources (2)

Prince Napoleon.

Introduced by M. Boisbunel, Rouen, France. Tree moderately vigorous and very productive. Young wood dull brown, slightly reddish.

Fruit medium, roundish, slightly pyriform, dull greenish, much shaded with thin brown russet, and russet patches. Stalk short, stout. Flesh greenish white, fine, juicy, sweet, perfumed. December. (Verg.)

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

Prince Napoleon, i. Leroy Diet. Pom. 2:556, fig. 1869. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 837. 1869.

Raised by M. Boisbunel, Rouen, Fr., from seed of the Passe Crassane in 1864. Fruit medium and sometimes above, globular, rarely regular and often mammillate at the top, olive-yellow, covered largely with mottlings of brown and sprinkled with indistinct gray dots; flesh white-greenish or yellowish, semi-fine, semi-melting; juice sufficient, saccharine, vinous, with a delicate perfume; first; Feb. and Mar.

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