Details for: PI 541303, Pyrus communis L., 'Duchesse d'Angouleme'

Found as a chance seedling near Maine-et-Loire, France. First propagated by M. Audusson about 1808 at Angers, France. First fruited in America in 1830. Added to the APS catalog list in 1862. Fruit medium or above in size, oblong-obovate-pyriform. Skin dull, greenish-yellow in color, sometimes netted with russet, numerous russet dots. Flesh becoming buttery at maturity but not melting, somewhat granular, moderately juicy. Sweet, fairly pleasing in flavor but not outstanding in dessert quality. Early midseason. Tree vigorous, stately, productive, hardy, and healthy. One of the best in the pear kingdom. Moderately resistant to blight. Semi-dwarf on quince. -- H. Hartman, Oregon Ag. Experiment Station, 1957.

The original tree of this cultivar grew in a garden near Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France. In 1808, after he became intrigued by the beauty and quality of the pear, M. Audusson obtained the right to propagate it. In 1812 he sold the trees under the name Poires des Eparonnais, a name that lasted only eight years. In 1820, M. Audusson sent a basket of the fruit to the Duchesse d' Angouleme and requested that he be given permission to name the pears in her honor. The request was granted. Ten years after it was given a new name, this cultivar amazed a number of people at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Exhibition when Samuel G. Perkins exhibited a pear that measured 11 3/4 inches long! Apparently, it was the only fruit that grew on his tree that year and it also happened to be the first fruit of the cultivar in America! -- U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York, 1921.