128 THALAMIFLORffi. 



5. Citrus aiirantium. Sweet Orange. 



Petioles siibalate, leaves ovate acuminate with 

 the apex obtuse remotely crenulato-serrulated, stamens 

 20-2'2, fruit globose with the rind thin and the pulp 

 sweet. 



Risso, Ann. Mus. XX. 181. t. 1. f. 1. & 2 De Cand. Prod. I. 



5'39.—Bot. Miscel. I. 301. 



HAB. Cultivated and naturalized. 



FL. January — April. 



A tree, 20-25 feet in height, with the branches forming a 

 spherical figure, towards their extremities 3-gonaI, glahrous. 

 Leaves ovate, indistinctly and bluntly serrulated, glabrous, 

 pellucido-punctate, marked with green dots beneath. Wings 

 of the petioles narrow. Spines axillary ; in trees, producing 

 the finer varieties of fruit, short. Flowers axillary, sometimes 

 solitary, more usually arranged in racemes, 6-7-flowered : 

 pedicels i an inch in length, thickened towards the flower, 

 terete, articulated a short distance from, or at the insertion, 

 where there is a small subulate deciduous bractea. Calyx 

 irregularly 3-4-5-fid ; divisions apiculated. Petals 4-5 ; when 

 only 4 unequal ; oblong, obtuse, externally virido-punctate, to 

 the glass minutely ciliated. Ovary spherical, green : style 

 slightly thickened towards the stigma, which is subcapitate. 

 Fruit globose ; pulp white, sweet. 



The orange is deserving of cultivation, not only on account 

 of the excellency of the fruit, but also as being among the 

 most ornamental of trees. It is graceful in its port, with leaves 

 beautifully formed and of a rich green, and filling the air with 

 the perfume of its clusters of delicately white blossoms. 



Var : b. Citrus aurantium vulgaris. Bitter or Seville 



orange. 



Petiole alate, leaves ovate acuminate with the apex 

 obtuse remotely crenulato-serrulated, stamens 25, 

 fruit globose with the rind thick, and the pulp bitter. 



Bot. Miscel. I. 301.— Citrus Sinensis, Pers. II. 74— C. 

 aurantium, Bot. Reg. t. 346. — C. vulgaris, De Cand. Prod. I. 

 539. 



HAB. Cultivated. 



FL. February — April. 



A tree, more lofty than the variety bearing the sweet fruit. 

 Leaves larger than those of the sweet variety, distinctly acu- 

 minate : petioles winged. Spines axillary. Flowers in an 

 axillary raceme, fragrant. Calyx almost always 5-fid, with the 

 teeth somewhat' irregular and acute. Petals usually 5. Stamens 



