From the Living Museum
Patte de Loup
- Origin
- Anjou, western France (the Beaupréau district, Maine-et-Loire), where it was already very old in 1867; recorded by 1830
- Era
- Old; recorded by 1830
- Type / use
- Dessert · Culinary
History & Stories
Distinctive, heavily russeted fruit with a rough, sandpaper-like skin that inspired the name ‘Wolf’s Paw’. Firm, aromatic, sweet-sharp flesh that improves in storage; versatile for both fresh eating and cooking. Unique for the dramatic texture of the skin, the evocative name, and its status as a historic French variety that is gaining renewed collector interest.
Folklore & Name
Old variety from Anjou in western France, recorded by 1830; its exact age is unknown 1. ‘Patte de Loup’ = Wolf’s Paw, referring to the rough, sandpaper-like russeted skin. Evocative folk name that has helped keep the variety in memory; gaining renewed collector interest.
Digging into the History
Below my own notes, here is what the old fruit books and today’s collections record about this apple, kept apart from the stories people tell.
What we know
Patte de Loup ("wolf's paw") is an old French russet from Anjou. André Leroy (1867) wrote that in the district of Beaupréau, in Maine-et-Loire, "where it is believed to have originated, the Patte-de-Loup apple tree is very common, very old." Its cultivation had begun to spread only in the previous thirty years. Millet mentioned it in 1830, and the French Pomological Congress recommended it in 1867 for its quality, long keeping, easy transport, and the fertility of the tree 1 (our translations).
The competing accounts
- André Leroy, 1867 1: very common and very old around Beaupréau, Maine-et-Loire (Anjou), where it is believed to have arisen; mentioned by Millet in 1830.
- Leroy's own guess 1: perhaps the same as a "pomme de Loup" listed without description in 1670, which he could not confirm.
- A Normandy or Brittany origin and a medieval date are sometimes given; we found no source for either.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): an old Anjou apple from the Beaupréau district, known there long before 1830. Leroy knew the region's orchards, and no older record has turned up; its exact age is unknown.
What we think: stories & traditions
A 1670 wolf? (Leroy's guess) Leroy wondered whether it was the "pomme de Loup" the monk Claude Saint-Étienne listed in 1670 without describing it, but he couldn't be sure 1. He said, "I cannot state the age of this variety" 1.
The name. The usual explanation is a mark on the fruit like a claw scratch, a russet line running down the side. That's a common description, not something Leroy wrote.
Sources
- André Leroy, Dictionnaire de pomologie, Vol. 4 (Pommes, G–Z) (Paris/Angers, 1867), "Patte de Loup." archive.org/details/dictionnairedepo04lero/mode/2up?q=%22Patte+de+Loup%22
Curious about Patte de Loup?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.