578 Citrus Fruits 



our markets but are eagerly sought for by those who know them; they are pro- 

 duced by a small Japanese tree, Citrus madurensis (Rumpf) Louriero. All these 

 fruits are being successfully grown in Cahfomia, Florida, and the West Indies. 

 The Trifoliolate orange, Citrus trijoliata Linnaeus, native of Japan, is noted for its 

 hardiness, thriving as far north as southern New York; it is a popular hedge plant 

 southward ; its small fruits are pleasing to look upon, but worthless as food on 

 account of their bitter pungent taste; expert horticulturists, however, are working 

 with it in the hope of securing hybrids with the more useful species which will 

 prove both hardy and edible. Oil of Bergamot is the volatile oil of the rind of the 

 fruit of C. Bergamia Risso and Poiteau. 



Citrus trees have alternate, persistent, leathery, usually unifoholately compound 

 leaves, the blade falling away from the petiole or rachis, which is often winged. 

 The flowers are perfect and regular, very fragrant, solitary or in few-flowered 

 clusters in the axils of the leaves; calyx cup-Hke, 4- or 5-toothed; petals 5, rarely 

 4 to 8, usually white, and deciduous; stamens 20, rarely as many as 60, inserted 

 around the annular or cup-like disk, their filaments dilated at the base and often 

 united into clusters; anthers versatile; ovary superior, several-celled; ovules several 

 in each cavity; styles united, deciduous. The fruit is a variously shaped large or 

 small berry, with an acidulous juicy pulp and a tough leathery rind which contains 

 numerous glands filled with pleasantly aromatic volatile oil; seeds several in each 

 cell, reduced in number or often wanting in the cultivated varieties, with a pale yel- 

 low papery coating and large fleshy cotyledons; there is no endosperm. 



The name is the Greek name of the Citron which is the type of the genus. 



The following species have become naturalized or frequently appear spon- 

 taneously in the warmer portions of our area : 



Leaf-stalk margined or winged. 

 Wings very broad. i. C. vulgaris. 



Wings very narrow or mere margins. 



Leaflet entire; fruit with a sweet pulp and an easily separable rind. 2. C. Aurantium. 

 Leaflet toothed; fruit with a very acid pulp and an inseparable rind. 3. C. Limonum. 

 Leaf-stalk usually without margins or wings. 



Berry small with a thin rind. 4. C. spinosissima. 



Berry large with a thick fleshy rind. 5. C. medica. 



I. BITTER ORANGE Citrus vulgaris Risso 



Also called Sour orange, and Bigarade orange, this is a small tree with a com- 

 pact head, reaching a maximum height of 9 meters, with a trunk up to 4 dm. thick. 



The twigs are light green and smooth, the thorns small, alternate and sharp- 

 pointed, larger and stronger on older branches. The leaf -blades are borne on very 

 broad-winged petioles 12 to 18 mm. long. The blades are ovate, 7.5 to 10 cm. 

 long, sharp- pointed, entire on the margin, dark green, shining and very aromatic. 

 The flowers are about 3 cm. broad, in axillar}^ cymes. Calyx cup-shaped, the 4 

 or 5 lobes blunt-pointed ; petals hnear-oblong, white, containing numerous conspicu- 



