RUTACEAE. — CITRUS 143 



ble to reconcile with the ordinary Mandarin oranges, is supported by Mr. Taylor's 

 statement, " rind . . . possessing a distinctive aroma and flavor, agreeable to 

 most persons." Loureiro reported this orange as occurring abundantly in Cochin- 

 china and also in China, though he did not sec it in Canton. Mr. Wilson's excel- 

 lent alcoholic specimens are so like the King orange as to be indistinguishable from 

 this variety. This material is of great interest as it extends the range of this little- 

 known species well into western Szech'uan. 



Citrus nobilis, var. deliciosa Swingle, n. comb.^ 



Citrus nobilis Andrews in Bot. Repos. IX. t. 608 (non Loureiro) (1809). 



Citrus nobilis, a. major Ker in Bot. Reg. III. t. 211 (1817). 



Citrus reticulata Blanco, Fl. Filip. 610 (1837). 



Citrus deliciosa Tenore in Ind. Sem. Hort. Bot. Neapol. [9] (1840). 



Citrus madurensis Du Breuil in Risso & Poiteau, Hist. Cult. Orang. ed. 2, 49, 



t. 29 bis (non Loureiro) (1872). 

 Citrus nobilis, subsp. genuina Tanaka in Bot. Mag. Tokyo, XXVI. (204) 



(1912).2 



Western Hupeh: Ichang, cultivated alt. 40-300 m., May 1909 

 (No. 2228; tree 3-8 m., flowers white, fragrant); Western Szech'- 

 uan : Kiang-tsin Hsien, between Chungking and Lu Chou, December 

 1908 (No. 4732; fruit in spirits). Korea : Quelpaert Island, November 

 1906, U. Faurie (Nos. 479, 481, 482); February 15, 1911, Taquet 

 (No. 4531). 



The so-called Mandarin orange said to have been introduced from China into 

 England in 1805 by Mr. Barrow and now grown in all the warmer parts of the 

 globe is undoubtedly a native Chinese species though probably improved by 

 selection through centuries of cultivation. Andrews mistakenly identified this 

 plant as the typical Citrus nobilis of Loureiro in spite of the fact that the plants 

 introduced by Mr. Barrow came from Canton where Loureiro did not find the 

 C. nobilis already familiar to him in Cochinchina. Tenore noting the wide 

 divergence of this plant from Loureiro's description considered it to be a distinct 

 species and named it C. deliciosa. It is probable that Blanco's C. reticulata is the 

 same thing but the application of this name is uncertain since Blanco's type speci- 

 men is lost. 



It is still a matter of doubt whether the mandarin orange is merely a variety of 

 Citrus nobilis Lour, or a distinct species, as there are a number of other rather 

 diverse varieties such as the "tachibana," a wild, sour form from the Liukiu Islands, 

 and the Tangerine, a red-fruited, large-leaved form probably of Chinese origin, 

 now widely grown in warm cUmates. For the present it seems best to consider all 



^ The following prelinnean name belongs heie: 

 Aurantium sinense Rumphius, Herb. Amb. II. 113, t. 34 (1741). 



» Vernacular name: "Kan" (Giles, Chin. Diet. ed. 2, No. 5833). — Wu 

 Ch'i-chiin Chih wu ming shih t'u k'ao, Bk. 31, fol. 7 (1848). — T'u shi tsi ch'eng, 

 1728 (see Bretschneider, Bot. Sin. I. 71) Sect. 4, Science, Div. 20, Botany (Ts'ao 

 mu), Bk. 226, 50 pp. with 1 plate, cited from large reprint. — Li Shih-chcn, P^n 

 ts'ao kang mu, 1596 (see Bretschneider, 1. c, 54), Bk. 30, fol. 11-12, figure in Atlas 

 under leafy trees (Kuan mu), cited from 1655 ed. 



