Genus CITRUS, Linn. 



Aurantiacere. Polydelphia Icosandria. 



i>i/sl. Nat. Hyat. Lin. 



Derivation. The meaning of the word Citrus has escaped the ingenuity of philologers and etymnlngists ; it was probabo 

 rorruplcd from the Latin word cedrus, a name applied by ihc. Romans lo various kinds of trees, which they ignorantly con- 

 fmnded. It is supposed by some to be derived from Ititron, the Ureclc name of llie lemon-tree. 



Distinctive Characters. The common character of the citrus family, is that of low, overseen trees, with 

 ovate or oval-lanceolate, entire, or serrated leaves. On trees in a wild stale, or on un^crafted cultivated 

 ones, there are often axillary spines. The flowers occur in peduncles, axillary or terminalinj?, and sin- 

 gle or many-flowered. The fruits are large berries, round, spheroidal, or oblong, and generally of a 

 yfllow colour. The species appear to be the most easily distinguished by the petiole, which, in the 

 orange and shaddock, is winged; while in the citron, lemon, and lime, it is naked. The form of the 

 fruit, although not constant, may serve, in a measure, for a distinction. In the orange and shaddock 

 it is spherical, or rather flattened at the ends, with a reddish yellow, or golden-coloured rind ; in the 

 lime,' the form is spherical, or oblong, with a pale, yellowish rind ; in the lemon, oblong, rough, with a 

 pointed protuberance at the end ; and in the citron, the form is oblong, with a very thick greenish, or 

 yellow rind. The flowers of the citron and lemon have ten stamens, but those of the orange more. 

 After all, it is very difficult to determine what is a species, and what a variety in this family. 



kHE beautiful and tree-like forms of this genus, clothed as they are 

 in shining and perennial verdure, odoriferous flowers, and adorned 

 with brilliant, fragrant, and delicious fruits, must have attracted 

 the attention of aboriginal man, long before other fruits of less bril- 

 liancy, though more nutritious, and grateful to his senses. The 

 "golden apples" of the heathens, and the "forbidden fruit" of the 

 Jews, are supposed to have reference to this family, though we have no authentic 

 records of any species of citrus having been cultivated either by the ancient 

 Greeks or Romans. The citron was introduced into Europe from Media, under 

 the name of Medica, and was cultivated in Italy by Palladio, in the Ilnd centu- 

 ry ; but the introduction of the other species has been, comparatively, of recent 

 date. They are all natives of the torrid zone, chiefly of India, and have been 

 disseminated throughout the warmer and more temperate regions of the habitable 

 globe. The limes are classified by modern botanists under the name of Limonia, 

 a new genus, derived from the Arabic, It/moini, a citron. It is not very well 

 known, however, but it is said to include nearly twenty species, one of which is 

 a native of East Florida, the Limonia ambigi/a, of Nuttall. There are also sev- 

 eral half-hardy kinds, natives of the Himalayas and Nepal, which are said to 

 grow at considerable elevations, and are adapted to the climate of the temperate 

 parts of Europe, and of the United States, without protection in winter. 



The most splendid work on this genus which has ever appeared, is the " His- 

 toire Naturelle des Grangers," by Risso, of Nice, and Poiteau, of Versailles, 

 published in folio, at Paris, in 1818. There are described in this treatise one 

 hundred and sixty-nine sorts, one hundred and five of them figured, and their 

 French and Italian culture given at great length. They are classified as sweet 

 oranges, of which they describe forty-three varieties or races ; bitter and sour 

 oranges, thirty-two; bergamots, five; limes, eight; pampelucos or shaddocks, 

 six ; sweet limes, twelve ; lemons, forty-six ; and citrons, seventeen varieties. 



Dr. Sickler, who lived several years in Italy, and paid particular attention to 

 the culture of the orange, published, in 1815, a work entitled " Der Volkommen 

 Orangerie Gartner," in which he describes above seventy kinds of citrus. And 

 Galesio, in his " Traite du Genre Citrus," etc., Savonna, 1818, has given a 

 synopsis of forty principal kinds cultivated in Italy. 



