ARE VALENCIA ORANGES FROM 
CHINAr 
The Occurrence in South China of Oranges Closely Resembling Strains 
of the Valencia Variety Suggests the Latter’s Origin There 
H. ATHERTON LEE! and L. B. Scorr?* 
U.S. Department of Agriculture 
HE introduction of the Valencia 
orange into Florida and Cali- 
fornia is a subject which has been 
fully discussed and is a matter of 
definite record by Shamel, Scott and 
Pomeroy.’ To briefly summarize their 
findings: The variety was introduced 
into California about 1876 by the 
Thomas Rivers Nurseries of London, 
England. The name of the variety 
having been lost, it was later identified 
by a Spanish orange grower v isiting in 
California, as a variety grown in Spain 
called “La Naranja Tarde de Valen- 
cia.”’ After that the name Valencia 
was adopted for the variety in Cali- 
fornia. Previous to 1876 the same 
variety had been introduced into 
Florida where it was known by the 
names ‘“‘Brown’’ and ‘“‘Hart’s Late.” 
Trees of these introductions were later 
shipped to California and when they 
came into bearing the fruits and trees 
were found to be identical with those 
of the variety grown in that state under 
the name Valencia. 
TWELVE STRAINS OF THIS VARIETY 
No definite evidence is available 
concerning the history of the variety 
prior to its distribution by the Rivers 
Nurseries. The Valencia variety, as 
cultivated in the United States, does 
not represent one single strain; investi- 
gations conducted by the Office of 
Horticultural and Pomological Investi- 
gations, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, have revealed that there are 
twelve important strains within this 
variety. 
In 1918 the senior writer visited 
southern China in continuance of citrus 
canker studies. At Sunwui, Kwang- 
tung Province, near Hong Kong, fruits 
were observed which very closely 
resembled one strain of the Valencia 
as grown in California, and fruits were 
collected as specimens for identifica- 
tion in Washington. At Kua Tscha 
near Swatow, Kwangtung Province, 
trees of the sweet orange were observed 
which also bore fruits resembling an- 
other strain of the Valencia orange. 
Fruits and foliage of these trees were 
collected but unfortunately the foliage 
specimens moulded and were dis- 
carded. The foliage was, however, of 
the same type as that which in general 
characterizes the Mediterranean varie- 
ties of the sweet orange (Citrus sinen- 
sis). Trees both at Sunwui and at Kua 
Tscha were photographed and one is 
shown in an accompanying figure. 
The trees were grafted upon a native 
mandarin orange (Citrus nobilis) stock, 
which apparently dwarfed them to 
some extent. At Sunwui, the growers, 
questioned as to where the bud wood 
was obtained, stated that they bought 
their trees already budded from a 
nearby locality. The nurserymen, ques- 
tioned as to where they had obtained 
these buds, stated that they had for 
many years obtained them from nearby 
trees. Apparently they did not recog- 
1 Now Mycologist and Plant Pathologist, Philippine Bureau of Science. 
* Now General Manager, California Nurserymen’s Bud Selection Association, San Jose. 
s The writers express their thanks to Mr. T. Ralph Robinson of the Bureau of Plant Industry, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture for assistance in connection with this paper. 
4Shamel, A. D., Scott, L. 
Bud Variation in the Valencia Orange. 
B., and Pomeroy, C. S. Citrus Fruit Improvement: 
U.S. Dept. of Agr. Bull. No. 624. 
A Study of 
