Capron-Apricot and Capron-Raspberry Strawberry - 50x70cm Poster

Fragaria elatior rotunda and Fragaria elatior favosa - Apricot Capron Strawberry and Raspberry Capron Strawberry

In 1808, an unexpected discovery revolutionized the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. For twenty years, a mysterious strawberry plant cultivated in the fruit tree school had borne no fruit.

Pierre-Antoine Poiteau, a meticulous botanist, then reorganized the collection and introduced the male Capron and the royal Capron. The same year, the sterile strawberry plant was covered with perfect fruits: it was the Raspberry Capron, whose female flowers had simply been waiting to be fertilized to reveal their splendor.

Caprons form a singular family of strawberry plants with identical foliage, difficult to differentiate outside of fruiting. Most bear exclusively female flowers, depending on the pollen of the male or royal Capron to produce their berries.

The Apricot Capron is recognizable by its rounded or ovoid fruit, 2 to 3 centimeters in size, brownish-red when ripe, with prominent seeds that lie flush with the surface without sinking in. Its firm flesh resembles that of the common Capron. The Raspberry Capron, on the other hand, has seeds nestled in deep indentations where the flesh subtly bulges.

Lighter in color, its melting texture releases vinous aromas and a characteristic raspberry scent. Generous, it often offers a second harvest in October.

This plate is taken from the Traité des Arbres Fruitiers by Pierre-Antoine Poiteau and Pierre Jean François Turpin, a botanical encyclopedia published between 1807 and 1835, a major reference in 19th-century naturalist 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 reference for art studios for rendering 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, non-reflective, designed for hanging.
• Printed on FSC certified paper, printed individually upon order.
• Shipped in a rigid protective tube.