Belle-Fleur Apple - Botanical poster 50x70cm

Malus huntigiana - Belle-Fleur Apple

Discovered at the turn of the 19th century in the Senart forest by the renowned nurseryman Louis Noisette, the Belle-Fleur Apple captivates with its deformed, almost sculptural appearance: much thicker at the base than at the top, slightly angular, it forms a unique pentagonal silhouette in the orchard.

The largest specimens exhibit a disturbing peculiarity: seedless, they reveal a vast pentagonal cavity at their core, a spectacular testament to exceptional vegetative vigor that has broken the central axis.

This imposing fruit, reaching 9 centimeters in height, is distinguished by its thick, smooth skin, pale yellow dotted with greenish spots in the shade, and vivid red when exposed to the sun.

Its white, fine, and firm flesh, without pulp, yields a pleasantly tart juice, making it a superior apple to the Passe-Pommes and Pigeonnets of its time.

The tree that bears it has large oval-elongated leaves, channeled like a gutter, downy on the underside, and pink flowers about 4 centimeters in size, grouped in clusters of five to six. Ripening in September-October, it could be stored until May, at which point its flesh tended to become mealy.

Poiteau naturally classified it between Calvilles and Pigeonnets, recognized for over fifty years in Parisian nurseries.

This plate is extracted 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 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 rendering fine tones, subtle gradients, and the most delicate botanical details.
• 200 gsm paper, soft matte finish, 0.26 mm thick: a finish close to the original engraving, sharp, glare-free, designed for hanging.
• Printed on FSC certified paper, individually printed to order.
• Shipped in a rigid protective tube.