The Buttersend perry pear rediscovered

by | posted in: Hartpury, identification, pears, perry pears, varieties | 0
Buttersend trees

More pear news from Jim Chapman who writes:

Buttersend is a perry variety originally identified by Long Ashton Research Station in the 1950s, but subsequently considered to be merely a form of Blakeney Red.

Buttersend pears

The re-discovered trees, in a location near Hartpury, are now looking aged and last year I decided to use DNA to double-check that they were actually Blakeney Red. They are still fruiting well, and the fruit does look similar to Blakeney Red, as can be seen in this photo of immature fruit (taken early August)

But the DNA results reveal that it is a unique variety, so the Buttersend is reinstated! It is a perry pear worth planting, with specific gravity, acid and tannin percentages already ascertained by Long Ashton (see original record card below).

It is now being budded and will in due course take its place in the National Collection!

Original LARS record card for Buttersend pear. This card, with holes round the edges is designed for sorting into types – holes indicating particular attributes were nicked using a tool and, by this means, all varieties with that attribute could be selected from a pile of cards by inserting a rod through the unbroken holes. This card may have been made by Cope-Chat in Stroud, who specialised in making this sort of information management stationery in the days before computers.