Medieval Fruit Varieties

Variety: Sucre Verte (1598)

Photo - USDA National Germplasm Repository

Synonyms: Bayonnaise, Green Sugar, Green Summer, Gris de Chine, Prince's Green Sugar, Sucre Verd, Sucre Vert, Sugar Pear, Sukerey d'Automne, Verdette

Notes:
The name means 'Sweet Green' in English. Origin obscure. Believed to have come from Barmont, a chateau on the boundary of Burgundy. Described as early as 1598. Well known in Paris by 1670. Fruit small in size, roundish-turbinate in form. Skin smooth, glossy, intense green in color with inconspicuous dots. Flesh white, fine, but with some grit at the center, buttery, juicy. Fairly sweet, nut-like aroma, pleasing flavor. Early midseason. Tree vigorous, spreading in habit, very productive. Moderately susceptible to blight. -- H. Hartman, 1957.

[Source: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/search.pl?PI+541269 (09 December 2006) ]