I 



Citrus.] XVII. RUTACE^E. 55 



sima, Meyer) is referred by Grisebach, 1. c, to 0. Aurantium. It is described 

 as a thorny shrub or small tree of shrubby growth ; leaves oval ; flowers white, 

 pentamerous ; stamens 25, rarely 30. Fruit nearly globose, small, yellow when 

 ripe, with a thin skin, and an abundance of pure acid juice. In Jamaica it is 

 quite naturalised, and forms strong fences ; lime-juice and citric acid are made 

 from the fruit. The fruit is much like the small acid Lime of India, and it is a 

 matter for further inquiry whether it should be classified under C Aurantium. 

 Lowe classes the West Indian Lime grown in Madeira (Limao de Gallinha, 

 Port.) under C. IAmonum. Others have classed the West Indian Lime under 

 C. Limetta, Bisso. 



3. C. decumana, Willd. The Shaddock, Pumelo, Pomplemoes. Vern. 

 Batavi Nebu, maha nimbu, chaJwtra. 



A tree, attaining 30-40 ft. ; young shoots pubescent. Leaves large, 6-9 

 in. long, oval-oblong, pubescent beneath, frequently emarginate ; petiole 

 broad- winged. Flowers white, large ; stamens 16-24. Fruit large, pale 

 yellow, globose or pear-shaped ; rind thick ; pulp pale yellow pink or crim- 

 son, sweet or acrid ; transverse vesicles distinct. 



Introduced into India from Java. Seemann, Flora Vitiensis, p. 33, states that 

 it apparently is indigenous in Polynesia. Cultivated in most tropical countries. 



The history of the gradual spread of the species of this genus is remark- 

 able. The Citron alone is described by classical writers. It was cultivated in 

 Media and Persia long before the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Greek 

 botanist Theophrastus, who wrote shortly after Alexander's death, gives a de- 

 scription of the tree and its fruit which cannot be mistaken. They were called 

 Median and Persian apples, and valued highly on account of their strong aro- 

 matic scent, as antidotes against poison, and to make the breath sweet. In 

 Greece and Italy the tree does not appear to have been cultivated much before 

 the third century of our era, although the fruit was imported at a much earlier 

 date. Plinius mentions its use in Rome, and in his books the name Citrus first 

 occurs. In the fifth century it was cultivated in the island of Sardinia, and 

 about Naples. On the coast of Mentone and Hyeres it was, according to Gal- 

 lesio, introduced in the twelfth or thirteenth century. 



Oranges and Lemons are not mentioned in the w T orks of Greek and Eoman 

 authors. The first notice regarding them is found in Arab books of the tenth 

 and eleventh century ; and it seems certain that the Lemon and the bitter Orange 

 were brought from India to Arabia, Syria, and Egypt in the ninth or tenth cen- 

 tury, and that their introduction in South Europe was mainly due to the pro- 

 gress of Arab conquest, in some cases to the Crusaders, and to the trade 

 connections between the Italian ports and the East. The bitter Orange was 

 extensively cultivated in Sicily and in Spain in the twelfth century. In Italy 

 and the south of France, Oranges and Lemons were not commonly grown before 

 the fourteenth century. 



The sweet Orange was introduced in Europe at a much later date ; and it 

 cannot yet be considered as finally decided whether it came by way of Syria 

 which, however, seems probable or whether the Portuguese may claim the honour 

 of having imported it by sea from India or China. So much is certain, that on 

 landing in India the Portuguese found sweet Oranges in abundance ; this fact is 

 specially noted in the account of Vasco de Gama's voyage. 



A comparison of the European, Sanskrit, and Arabic names of the Citron, Orange, 

 and Lemon, confirms the result of historical research regarding the spread of 

 their cultivation. The Sanskrit name of the Citron, Vijapura, never went far 

 West. At the time of Alexander the Great, the fruit was known under the 



