Variation in the seeds and pulp-vesicles of 



Citrus auranthtm L. subsp. uobills 



Mak. var. TacJubana Mak. 



By 

 H . N a k a 11 . 



Now-a-days many kinds of mandarins are cultivated in 

 Japan, the phylogeny of which we are now quite ignorant. 

 History tells us that some species of mandarins were introduced 

 from China/^ and hence some scholars imagine that the present 

 mandarin is indigenous to China, but the wild growing parent 

 mandarin called Tachibana, which now is considered the most 

 primitive mandarin, has been observed in Southern Japan by Mr. 

 T. Making.-^ The native land of the present mandarin cannot 

 then necessarily be China, because many varieties of the present 

 day would have been derived from such an inland stock-plant 

 as Tachibana. 



We commonly see four kinds of mandarins in Tokyo and its 

 vicinity. The principal character of their fruits may be de- 

 scribed as follows : 



Fukuremikan, a race of Tachibana is almost allied to 

 Tachibana. The fruits are 3-5 cm in diameter. The rind is 

 smooth and yellow; its thickness is about 1.5-2 mm. The 

 pulp is yellow and has an acid taste. In the ripe fruit the rind 

 and pulp-vesicles are easily separable. 



Kojimikan, a rac^ of Tachibana is somewhat allied to the 

 above race. The fruits are as large as that of the above, being 

 about 3-5 cm in diameter. The rind is pale yellow and very 

 thin, about 1-2 mm. The pulp is also pale yellow and has a 

 slightly bitter taste. 



1) K. Shirat. a chronological table of natural history iu Japan. i909. p. 4 I't 40. 



2) T. Making. Bot. Mag. Tokyo. 1901 Vol. 15 No, 178 p. 168. 



