REINE DE FRANCE.
eine de France (Beschrijving der vruchtsoorten [Description of fruit varieties], second series, N°. 142).
Origin: the original tree can be found in the vicarage garden of a village near Tiel, The Netherlands; the vicar was kind enough to send us the apple for comparison; when we discovered that it was unlike any apple we knew, we asked and received scions for grafting, and we believe the apple is valuable enough to be recommended. It is unknown whether the tree is a seedling or was found without a name.
SHAPE: as illustrated, very few variations.
SIZE: second grade.
EYE: wide open, in a broad, shallow basin, surrounded by small ribs; sepals are broad, woolly, grey, often bent backwards into the basin.
STALK: short, often fleshy, greenish grey, a bit woolly; cavity narrow and shallow.
The COLOUR: the illustration shows the apple when fully ripened; on the tree the colour is whitish green, with few lenticels and sometimes a little thin russeting; the apples are without stripes most of the time; stripes are only found when the apple had a lot of sun. Around the basin one sees a ring of green.
The FLESH is yellowish white, soft, pleasant, sweetish sour, mealy when over-ripe. Core and light brown pips are medium sized.
TIME OF USE: October and November. First grade for dessert, also because of its attractiveness, excellent for the kitchen as well.
The TREE is a good grower, suitable for all shapes, and produces strong summer twigs. The twigs are light brown with few small, roundish, greyish lenticels; the buds are flat, the leaves are oval and serrate.