CISTUS 



CITRON 



321 



are important garden plants, but they are little known 

 in America. 



A. Fls. purple or red. 

 B. Fls. l^-S in. wide; petals imbricate. 

 villdsus, Linn. (<7. i»cd»t(s, Linn. ). Erect shrub, 3-4 

 ft., villous or tomentose : Ivs. penninerved, roundish- 

 ovate or oblong, narrowed into a very short petiole, 

 rugose above and grayish green, tomentose or villous 

 beneath, 1-2 in. long: tls. 1-3, long-peduncled, reddish 

 purple, 2 in. wide ; petals light pink or yellowish at the 

 base. May, June. Mediterr. region. B.M.43. S.C. 35. 



— A very variable species. Var. Criticus, Boiss. Lvs. 

 smaller, more spatulate at the base : lis. purple. Fl. 

 Graaca5:495. S.C. 112. V:ir. canescens, Nichols. Lvs. 

 elliptic-oblong or iirirnuv-nlihiiii;. ol>tusi-: fls. dark purple. 

 S.C. 45. Var. TOtundiJolius, L'.u.l. Uwarfer, with more 

 roundishlvs. S.C. 75. Var.undul4tus,\Villk. Lvs. linear- 

 oblong, acute, undulate : lis. solitary. S.C. 63. 



crispus, Linn. Compact shrub, to 2 ft., villous : lvs. 

 sessile, 3-nerved, linear-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic, un- 

 dulate, rugose above, villous beneath ; fls. 3-4, nearly 

 .sessile, lH-2 in. wide, deep rose-colored. June-August. 

 S.W.Europe. S.C. 22. 



heterophyllus, Desf . Erect, to 2 ft. : lvs. short-peti- 

 (iled, elliptic- or oval-lanceolate, green on both sides and 

 slightly hairy, ^-1 in. long : fls. 1-3, 2 in. wide ; petals 

 red. yellow at the base. N.Africa. S.C. G. — More tender. 



BB. Fls. 1 in. wide, petals not imbricate. 



parviflbrus, Lam. Much branched shrub, 1-2 ft.; to- 

 mentose: lvs. 3-nerved, elliptic-ovate, undulate rugose 

 above, reticulate beneath, twisted, 1 in. long : fls. 3-5 ; 

 petals pale rose, yellow at the base. June. Greece, 

 Crete. S.C. 14. 



AA. Fls.wJlife: lvs. S-llerved. 



Cyprius, Lam. Erect .shrub, to 6 ft., glutinous : lvs. 

 oblung-Ianceolate, glabrous above, villous-tomentose be- 

 neath: fls. 5-7, nearly 3 in. wide; petals blotched purple 

 at the base. June. Cyprus. S.C. 39. 



ladanlferus, Linn. Shrub, to4 ft., glutinous : lvs. short- 

 petioled, lanceolate, glabrous and viscid above, whitish 

 tomentose beneath, 1%-A in. long : fls. usually solitary, 

 long-peduncled, 3-3 ^ain. wide; petals yellow at the base. 

 June. S.W.Europe. S. C. 84. — Var. maculatus, Sweet. 

 Petals with a dark brownish crimson spot above the base. 

 B.M. 112. Gn.30:552. S.C.I. Probably the most beauti- 

 ful of all Cistus. 



laurifdlius, Linn. Shrub, to 6 ft. : lvs. petioled, ovate 

 or ovate-lanceolate, glabrous above, whitish or brownish 

 tomentose beneath, l-2^in. long : fls. 3-8, 2-3 in. wide; 

 petals with yellow blotch. June-Aiigust. S. W. Europe. 

 Gn. 53, p. 131. S.C. 52. — The hardiest species. 



C. dlbidus, Linn. To 4 ft. : lvs. sessile, whitish tomentose : fls. 

 3-8, lilac or rosy, 2% in. S.W. Europe. S.C. 31.— G.Algan'insis. 

 Sims =* Helianthemum ocyimoides. — O.candidissimuSy Dun.; 

 S.C. 3 = C.vaginatus.var. — C. Gorbariensis , Pourr. (C. populifo- 

 liusXsalvifolius). To 5 ft.: lvs. slightly cordate, glutinous: fls. 

 1-5, white, IK in. S.C.8.— C Cjtpamdmjs, Presl. To3ft.:lvs. 

 cordate-ovate: fls 2-3, white. Sicily. S.C. 70.— C. Florentlnus, 

 Lam. (C. MonspeliensisXsalvifoUus). Dwarf: lvs. lanceolate : 

 fls. white, 2 in. Gn. 27:497, and 53, p. 134. S.C.bi).— C.formbsus, 

 Ourt.^ Helianthemura formosum. — C glaiicus, PotuT.= C. Le- 

 don.— C. hirsiUus. Lam. One to 3 ft., clothed with spreading and 

 glandular hairs: lvs. sessile, lanceolate: fls. 1-5, white. S.W. Eu- 

 rope. S.C. 19. — C iaii/o^iws. Sweet; S.C. IS^C.populifolius.var. 



— C. Idxus, Ait.= C. longifolius. — C. LMon, Lam. One to 2 ft.; 

 lvs. lanceolate, glossy above: fls. 5-10, white, iKin. S. France.— 

 C. lomiifbliiLS, Lam. Two to 4 ft., glandular: lvs. oblong-laneeo- 

 hvte. glossy above : fls. white, l^in. S.W. Europe. S.C. 12. 

 Variable.— Clfonspeiiensis, Linn. To 5 ft.: lvs. sessile, lanceo- 

 late: fls. white, cymose, 1 in. S. Europe. S.C. 27.— C. oblongi- 

 fblius. Sweet: S.C.67=C.longifoIius.var.—C^.o&(««foiiM5. Sweet; 

 S.C. 42 = C. longifolius. var.— C. popuUfblius, Linn. To 6 ft., 

 glutinous : lvs. petioled. cordate, acuminate, rugose above : fls. 

 white, cymose, 2 in. S.W.Europe. S.C. 23. — C.purpitreus. h&xn. 

 Three to 4 ft. : lvs. oblong-Ianeeolate, rugose above: fls. 1^. red- 

 dish purple : petals yellow at the base and with maroon blotch 

 above. Orient. Gn. 31:591; 45, p. 33. BR. 5:408. S.C. 17.- C. 

 salvifdlius. Linn. To 2 ft.: lvs. oval, obtuse, tomentose. small: 

 fls. 1-2. white. IK in. S. Eu., Orient. S.C. 54.— C. »0(;Min(us, 

 Linn. (Rhodocistus Berthelotianus, Spach). To 2 ft.: lvs. 

 petioled. ovate, acuminate : fls. cymose. deep rose-colored, yel- 

 low incenter. Canary Islands. S.C. 9. B.R. 3:225. P.S. 15:l.i01, 



Alfred Rehder. 

 CITEON. A form of Watermelon. 



21 



CITEON {Citrus Medica,var. gemtlna}. See Citrus. 

 Fig. 474. —A large, thick-rinded, lemon-like fr., some- 

 what cult, in Flor. and Calif. The rind is used in the 

 making of preserves and confections. 



The Citron is propagated by cuttings, layers, budding, 

 and grafting. The usual method of propagating is by 

 budding on a vigorous stock, in Florida preferably the 



Med 



rough lemon ("French lemon " or " oranged loomie"), 

 but also on the sour orange. Grafting is so uncertain, 

 owing to the prevailing high temperature, that it is sel- 

 dom attempted. Cuttings of ripe wood root readily, 

 both in the open ground and the propagating house. 

 For open ground, select wood thoroughly ripe in De- 

 cember, and cut in lengths about 6 to 10 inches ; clip 

 off all but the top leaf, and insert in rows in well-drained 

 soil, leaving the top bud exposed to the air. Watering 

 must be thoroughly kept up until the succeeding rainy 

 season. A shade of lath or brush should be provided 

 the rows of cuttings. By November of the following 

 year, the young plants will be sufiiciently well rooted 

 to transplant. By making short cuttings, 2 or 3 

 inches long, of ripe wood, and inserting in the moist 

 sand of the propagating house, less wood is necessary 

 and a higher percentage of rooted plants will result in a 

 shorter period. These cuttings may be inserted at any 

 time of year, but winter and early spring are preferable. 

 The young rooted plants may be grown into large size 

 in the nursery, until wanted for orchard setting. Layers 

 are easily rooted by pegging down low branches of the 

 Citron during the rainy season. They do not make such 

 symmetrical trees as those grown from cuttings, or by 

 budding. 



The site for the Citron orchard should be on well- 

 drained land, either naturally, or otherwise, of the best 

 quality, similar to that selected for the lemon In or- 

 chard planting, the trees should be set about 15x24 

 feet apart (although this is not arbitrary), as sufficient 

 room should be allowed for cultivation, hauling ferti- 

 lizer and fruit, and plenty of sunlight and air. An 

 abundance of sunshine and breezes are the greatest aids 

 in keeping down insect pests and fimgous troubles. The 

 Citron is rather low-growing and inclined to make long 

 lateral branches, which, if not cut back occasionally, 

 touch the ground and form roots, rendering cultivation 

 and fruit-gathering difficult. Cultivation is essentially 

 the same as for the orange and lemon: shallow plowing 

 in December at the time of applying fertilizer, followed 

 by thorough harrowing every two or three weeks until 

 the latter part of June. This keeps the top soil loose, 

 conserving the moisture, and keeping down weeds and 

 grass during the dry season. After the rains set in 



