CITRUS 



CITRUS 



781 



cc. Fl.-buds white: petioles more or less 



winged. 



D. Frs. oval, often slightly papillate, 

 small, 1-1% in. diam., greenish- 

 yellow when ripe, thin-skinned, 

 smooth: fls. small: petioles 

 plainly winged: Ivs. small, pallid 

 above, crenate, more or less 

 punctate, obtuse: spines short, 



very sharp 3. aurantifolia 



DD. Frs. globose, depressed globose, 

 rarely oval or pyriform, never 

 papillate, orange-colored, or if 

 yellow, frs. large and thick- 

 skinned. 



E. Size of fr. very large, pale yel- 

 low when ripe: twigs pubes- 

 cent when young: petioles 



broadly winged 4. grandis 



EE. Size of fr. medium or small, 



orange or orange-yellow. 

 F. The frs. with a solid core and 

 a light skin; pulp sweet: 

 petioles slightly winged. . . 6. sinensis 

 FF. The frs. with a hollow core 

 when fully ripe, skin loose 

 or, if tight, pulp acid and 

 petioles broadly winged. 

 G. Skin tight: petioles broad- 

 ly winged: pulp acid .... 5. Aurantium 

 GG. Skin loose: petioles only 

 narrowly winged or 

 margined. 



H. The fr. borne singly at 

 tips of branches, 

 small; segms. 7-10, 

 pulp very acid: Ivs. 



pale beneath 8. mitis 



HH. The fr. borne in axils 

 of the Ivs.; segms. 

 8-15, pulp sweet: Ivs. 

 dark green below 7. nobilis 



1. Medica, Linn, (from Media whence the species 

 first came to the notice of the ancient Greeks and 

 Romans). CITRON. Fig. 971. A shrub or small tree, 

 with long irregular branches: thorns short, stout and 

 stiff: Ivs. rather pale green, large, oblong, 4-6 or 7 in. 

 long and 1^-2 in. wide, bluntly rounded at the tip 

 with serrate margins, not articulated with the petioles, 

 which are wingless: fls. large, reddish tinted when in 

 the bud, usually in terminal panicles, or clustered, 

 in the axils of the Ivs.; petals large, white above, 

 reddish purple below; stamens numerous, 30-40 or 

 more; ovary tapering gradually into the often persist- 

 ent style: fr. large, oval or oblong, 6-10x4-6 in., 

 bluntly apiculate, often rough or bumpy, lemon-yel- 

 low when ripe; skin very thick, fragrant; pulp scanty, 

 acid; seeds oval, smooth, white inside. The citron is 

 very sensitive to cold because 

 of its ability to grow at low 

 temperatures, which causes it 

 to start into a fresh and very 

 tender growth after a few days 

 of warm weather in winter. It 

 is cult, in the Medit. region, 

 especially in Corsica, whence 

 large quantities of the peel are 

 exported in brine to Amer. to 

 be candied. The candied peel 

 is much used in confectionery 

 and in cakes. Sparingly cult, in 

 Calif, and Fla. A number of 

 ill-defined varieties are grown, 

 the most important being the 

 Corsican, intro. from Corsica in 

 1894 by David Fairchild. The 

 Etrog or sacred Jewish citron is 



grown in Corfu. See Citron. 

 973. Fingered citron. . 



Citrus Medica var. sarco- v &r. sarcodactyllS, bwingle 

 dactylis. (x>i) (Citrus sarcoddctylis v. 



Nooten. C. Medica var. digitala, Auct., not Lour.). 

 Fo SHU KAN (Chinese). BUSHUKAN (Japanese). Fig. 

 973. Differs from the common citron in having the 

 segms. of the fr. separated into finger-like processes. 

 The frs. are very fragrant and are used by the Chinese 

 and Japanese for perfuming rooms and clothing. It is 

 sometimes grown as a dwarf potted plant for ornament. 

 It should be intro. into this country. 



2. Limonia, Osbeck (from Arabic limun, a lemon) 

 (C. Medica var. Limon, Linn. C. Limbnium, Risso). 

 LEMON. Fig. 974. A small tree with long irregular 

 branches : thorns 

 short, stout and 

 stiff : Ivs. rather pale 

 green, elongate- 

 ovate, pointed at 

 the tip, with ser- 

 rate or sub-serrate 

 margins ; petioles 

 wingless but some- 

 times narrowly 

 margined, articu- 

 lated both with 

 the blade and the 

 twig : fls. rather 

 large, solitary or in 

 small clusters in the 

 axils of the Ivs., 



reddish - tinted in 974 citrus Llmonia . ( x M> fr . ^ 

 the bud ; petals 



white above, reddish purple below; stamens 20-40; 

 ovary tapering into the deciduous style: fr. oval or 

 oblong, with an apical papilla, 3-5 x 2-3 in. with 8-10 

 segms., lemon-yellow when ripe, with a prominently 

 glandular-dotted peel, often more or less rough and 

 moderately thick; pulp very abundant, very acid; seeds 

 small, ovate, smooth, often few or none, white inside. 

 The lemon is very sensitive to cold as, like the 

 citron and the lime, it is readily forced into new 

 growth by a few days of warm weather in winter. It 

 is found in all tropical and warm subtropical regions 

 and is cult, on a large scale in the Medit. region, 

 especially in Sicily, whence large quantities of the frs. 

 are exported to the U. S. In this country the lemon is 

 widely cult, in Calif, and to a much smaller extent in 

 Fla. The frs. are gathered just before they ripen 

 while still green in color and often before they attain 

 their full size and are then ripened in curing-houses, 

 in which temperature and' humidity are artificially 

 controlled. The juice is used for making lemonade, 

 for cooking, and the arts; the peel is used in cooking 

 and the oil extracted from it is used in cooking and in 

 perfumery. The principal cult, varieties have rather 

 small smooth frs. The more important varieties are 

 listed here: Eureka. Frs. oval-oblong, medium size, 

 usually seedless, ripening early: tree small, nearly 

 thornless. Genoa* Frs. oval, pointed at base and tip, 

 ripening early, seedless: tree dwarf. Lisbon. Frs. 

 oblong, with a large papilla at the tip, few-seeded : tree 

 of medium size, thorny; a vigorous grower. Villa 

 Franca. Frs. oval-oblong, medium to large, apex 

 abruptly papillate, seeds numerous: tree of good size, 

 nearly thornless. Kennedy. Frs. oval, with a very 

 small papilla, thin-skinned, nearly seedless. Ponderosa. 

 Frs. very large, sometimes weighing 2% Ibs., with a 

 neck at the base; seeds numerous. Everbearing. Frs. 

 large, abruptly papillate at the tip, with a narrowed 

 neck at the base, rough all over; seeds rather numerous: 

 everbearing, borne on a straggling bushy tree that 

 sprouts from the roots. Grown for home use in Fla. 

 Rough (Florida Rough). A tree of doubtful origin, 

 occurring wild in the Everglades of S. Fla. : frs. round- 

 ovate, very rough, apical papilla surrounded by a 

 depressed ring; seeds numerous: tree large and vigorous. 

 The frs. of this variety are useless for commercial pur- 

 poses, but the seeds are in considerable demand by 



