May 25, 1914 
Eremocitrus 
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citrous fruit to thrive in such conditions must possess marked adaptations 
to enable it to resist severe drouth. 
It is very probable that the ability of this plant to grow in dry soils 
exposed to hot, dry winds will render it of great value in breeding 
new types of citrous fruits better fitted than any we now possess to grow 
under semiarid conditions. 
USES OF THE FRUITS OF THE DESERT KUMQUAT 
The early explorers of the deserts of southern Queensland and northern 
New South Wales note repeatedly the fact that the fruits of the desert 
kumquat are edible. 
Leichhardt (1847, p. 77), writing on December 16, 1844, said: 
Yesterday in coming through the scrub, we had collected a large quantity of ripe 
native lemons, ... we made them into a dish very like gooseberry-fool; they had 
a very pleasant acid taste, and were very refreshing. They are of a light yellow 
colour, nearly round, and about half an inch in diameter; the volatile oil of the rind 
was not at all disagreeable. 
At this time Leichhardt was in the region to the west of the Expedi¬ 
tion Range at about latitude 24 0 45' S., in what is now Denison County. 
About 10 years later Ferdinand von Muller accompanied the North 
Australian Expedition, under the command of A. C. Gregory, and in 
his report (1858, p. 143) noted that this species is one of the plants 
characteristic of the Brigalow Scrub. He called the fruit “a small 
lemon” and stated that it was among the native fruits eaten by the 
exploring party. 
Prof. J. H. Maiden (1888, p. 489; 1889, p. 8), Colonial Botanist of 
New South Wales, Australia, said of this species: 
'Native Kumquat/ 'Desert Lemon/ 
The fruit is globular, and about half-an-inch in diameter. It produces an agree¬ 
able beverage from its acid juice. A fair preserve may be made out of the fruit. 
Prof. F. M. Bailey (1895, p. 17) wrote as follows: 
Aialantia glauca , J. D. Hook. The Kumquat or Lime of our Downs country. 
Order Rutaceae, and closely allied to the orange; often attains the size of a small tree, 
but while only the size of a small shrub yields a great abundance of fruit, which is 
gathered and converted into jam by the settlers. By careful selection and cross¬ 
fertilization from this might be obtained varieties worthy of cultivation for the sake 
of their fruit. 
It is evident from this testimony that the Australian desert kumquat 
when growing in a wild state yields fruits which, though small, are eaten 
and even prized by the settlers. 
This is also shown by the following account, from a letter of F. S. 
Came, dated Fairfield, Roma, Queensland, February 15, 1914, addressed 
to W. M. Came, of Sydney, Australia, and by him sent to the author. 
* * * The limes flower in the early spring and the fruit is ripe about the end of 
November. They are to be found principally on broken Brigalow plains in chocolate 
