RIEHL BEST

Origin & History

Riehl Best was discovered by Edwin H. Riehl of Godfrey, Illinois, and introduced by Stark Brothers Nursery of Louisiana, Missouri. According to Mr. Riehl's account, the original tree stood on a farm previously owned by a pioneer nurseryman who imported a number of pear varieties from France, some possibly unnamed. The farm contained the remains of three old orchards planted approximately fifty years prior to Riehl's discovery. While trees of other varieties in these orchards were ruined by blight, the Riehl Best tree remained in perfect health and bore fruit annually. Based on this history, Riehl Best is probable an old European pear variety that was renamed upon its introduction to commerce.

Tree

The tree is large, vigorous, upright, and dense-topped with rapid growth and productive bearing. The trunk is stocky. Branches are thick, light reddish-brown, overspread with thin scarf-skin and marked with large, conspicuous, numerous lenticels. Branchlets are slender, often willowy, long, greenish-brown, and dull; they are smooth and pubescent only near the ends of new growth, sprinkled with small, slightly raised, inconspicuous lenticels.

Leaf-buds are small, short, pointed, and plump, with free attachment; leaf-scars have prominent shoulders. Leaves are 3 inches long by 1½ inches wide, thick, with abruptly pointed apex and glandless margin with variable serrations; petiole ¾ inch long.

Flower-buds are small, short, conical, plump, free, and borne singly on short spurs. Flowers are 1½ inches across, borne in dense clusters averaging 6 buds per cluster; pedicels are ¾ inch long and lightly pubescent.

Fruit

Size & Form: Medium in size, 2⅝ inches long by 2 inches wide; obovate-conic-pyriform, irregular with unequal sides.

Stem: 1¼ inches long.

Cavity & Calyx: Cavity very shallow and narrow when present, or lacking altogether, with flesh drawn up in a lip on one side of the stem. Calyx open; lobes separated at the base, broad, obtuse.

Basin: Obtuse and furrowed.

Skin & Color: Skin thick and roughened with russet. Color dull yellow, largely overlaid with patches of russet, marked with distinct russet dots and a faint trace of pinkish-red blush on the cheek next the sun. Dots numerous, russet, and conspicuous.

Flesh & Flavor: Flesh tinged with yellow, granular under the skin, tender, moderately juicy, and vinous. Quality is good.

Core & Seeds: Core large, closed, axile, with meeting core-lines. Calyx-tube short, wide, and conical. Carpels ovate. Seeds medium in size, width, and plumpness, obtuse.

Season

Fruit ripens in October.

Uses & Characteristics

Riehl Best is notable for its nearly blight-proof constitution and should be tried in localities where standard pear varieties cannot be raised because of blight. The trees are hardy to both heat and cold, and bear annually. The variety is worth growing in breeding work as a parent for obtaining blight-resistant varieties. Although the pears are rather unattractive in appearance, they are excellent in quality. The flesh is juicy, tender, vinous, and free from grittiness, and seldom rots at the core. The fruits fall far short of those of standard varieties grown in New York.

Subtypes/Variants

Not described in source.