What is the name of the French whaling ship encountered by the Pequod?

The French whaling ship encountered by the Pequod is the Bouton de Rose. The ship appears in Chapter 91 of Moby-Dick, where Ahab’s crew meets the French vessel while searching the oceans for Moby Dick.

Melville gives the ship a name meaning “rosebud” in French, although the encounter is comic rather than romantic. The Pequod’s sailors discover that the French crew is trying to process a dead whale that contains ambergris, a valuable, fragrant substance used historically in perfumes.

Ahab is interested in whether the French captain has seen the white whale, but the encounter also exposes differences in whaling knowledge and superstition. The Pequod’s crew understands the commercial value of the whale’s contents more clearly than the French sailors do, and the scene mixes maritime adventure with Melville’s characteristic satire.

Some editions and references render the name as “Bouton-de-Rose” or “Bouton de Rose.” Those forms refer to the same fictional ship. It should not be confused with the Rose-bud, the English translation-like form used in the chapter’s wordplay, or with the Rachel, another whaler encountered later.