For a European pear, Flemish Beauty is exceptionally self-fertile. It will, however, be even more productive in the presence of a pollenizer. The tree has a spreading habit with drooping branches.

The fruit ripens about two weeks after Bartlett. It is large, with clear yellow skin that bears an attractive blush on the exposed cheek and a fine russet. The flavor is unmatched: rich and musky with balanced sugars and acids. Hedrick writes in Pears of New York, "a bright-cheeked Flemish Beauty is as handsome as any pear, and is almost unapproachable in quality; the flavor is nicely balanced between sweetness and sourness, very rich, and has a pleasing muskiness." Flemish Beauty should be picked when full sized and allowed to finish ripening off the tree. This pear is not recommended for extended storage before final ripening.

Flemish Beauty has fallen out of favor with commercial growers on account of its susceptibility to fireblight. For the home grower, however, it is worth the extra effort; the exceptional flavor of the fruit and the vigor and cold hardiness of the tree compensate for difficulties in cultivation. Fireblight is not generally considered to be a problem for small isolated orchards.

Flemish Beauty has a complex history. It is reported to be a descendent of a wildling found in the woods in East Flanders, Belgium around 1800, when its original name was Bosc Peêr or Pear of the Woods. In 1810 its propogation was taken up by Van Mons, who renamed the pear Fondante de Bois "Candy of the Woods," and it was broadly known in Europe by this name for many years. In 1931, however, Lindley described this pear as being widely cultivated in England under the name Flemish Beauty. Van Mons popularized the pear in America, donating grafts to numerous friends and acquaintances, and Flemish Beauty was recommended for general cultivation during the very first meeting of the American Pomological Society in 1848.