Apricot Albergier Franc - Botanical poster 50x70 cm

Armeniaca mera - Albergier Franc Apricot Tree

The Albergier Franc holds a unique place in French fruit history: Poiteau and Turpin considered it to be the original type of all apricot trees, the only variety capable of reproducing faithfully from seed, whereas other cultivars lose their qualities.

Cultivated for centuries around Tours, this remarkable tree retained all its virtues in this privileged region, producing a fruit with a well-established reputation among 19th-century connoisseurs.

The Albergier Franc is distinguished by its uniquely recognizable habit: slender buds, small leaves that are neither flat nor grooved, often with auricles at the base and borne on a petiole adorned with purplish glands.

Its flowers, more modest than those of the common apricot, produce medium-sized fruits reaching 50 millimeters in diameter. Ripening in mid-August, they acquire a beautiful golden yellow color, their skin reddens in the sun and cracks slightly. But it is inside that their true distinction lies: a red, firm flesh, enhanced by a pleasantly vinous juice which, according to Poiteau himself, made them far superior to the common apricot.

This exceptional taste quality explains why nurserymen of the time particularly sought out the most flavorful specimens produced from seeds.

This plate is taken from Pierre-Antoine Poiteau and Pierre Jean François Turpin's Traité des Arbres Fruitiers, a botanical encyclopedia published between 1807 and 1835, a major reference in 19th-century naturalistic illustration.
It combines the rigor of scientific drawing with a rare artistic sensibility, characteristic of the great plates from the golden age of illustrated botany.

• Each poster is printed using 12-color giclée printing, the benchmark for art workshops for reproducing fine tones, subtle gradients, and the most delicate botanical details.
• 200 g/m² paper weight, soft matte finish, 0.26 mm thickness: a result close to the original engraving, clear, glare-free, designed for hanging.
• Printed on FSC certified paper, printed individually to order.
• Shipped in a rigid protective tube.