Read Ebook: The Philippine Agricultural Review. Vol. VIII First Quarter 1915 No. 1 by Various Edwards H T Editor

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Of all the plants here discussed, C. micrantha var. microcarpa is botanically furthest removed from the cultivated citrus fruits.

The species of the genus Citrus that have come under the observation of the writer, with two exceptions, seem naturally to divide themselves into two groups,-- those with more or less united filaments and hypogeal cotyledons, and those with free filaments, and with supra-terraneous, distinct cotyledons . In so far as these characteristics have been observed in the Philippine citrus fruits, long and broad-winged petioles are a third correlative feature distinguishing group No. 2; C. ichangensis recently described by Swingle from China also possesses this last feature, but has connate filaments. The alsem and alemow seem to be intermediate between these forms, the alsem being most closely related to those in the first division, the filaments being connate, while the cotyledons in some lots that have been propagated appeared above ground. The alemow is most closely related to group No. 2, the filaments being nearly always free. The general character of the talamisan together with the presence of hypogeal cotyledons tends to the belief that this species has more or less united filaments and thus would belong to the first group.

All descriptions have been made from living plant material either during tours of collection by the writer, or from plants grown at the Lamao experiment station from material sent to the Bureau of Agriculture from time to time since April, 1911. Also, all the material has been collected from plants growing in the yard of some Filipino and so may lay claim to having been domesticated. While this statement may not be altogether reliable it is interesting to note that in Bohol the Filipinos stated that the following trees grew wild in the forest: Among-pong, amontay, balincolong, biasong, canci, colo-colo, limoncito, limao, lombog, and samuyao.

While it is believed that the species described in this paper include most of the more distinctive Philippine citrus fruits, and several hitherto unknown even to the botanist, they do not by any means exhaust the Philippine forms of this genus. Several other forms have been noted, and constitute a part of the citrus collection at Lamao but are not here referred to, for the reason that the material on hand is too incomplete to warrant their description at this time.

Acknowledgements.--The writer is greatly indebted to Mr. E. F. Southwick, superintendent of the demonstration station at Cebu, for his untiring zeal in repeatedly forwarding sets of citrus fruits and budwood from Bohol and Cebu, and for his most valuable assistance during a collection trip made by him and the writer to Cebu and Bohol in May, 1914, without which it would not have been possible to obtain much of the data and material collected. All the species and varieties credited to Bohol were first called to the attention of the Bureau by Mr. Southwick. Mr. G. W. Weathersbee, formerly agricultural inspector of this Bureau, first called attention to the alemow and has also assisted in the collection of citrus material in Cebu. Mr. A. M. Burton, formerly superintendent of the Trinidad garden, Benguet, has forwarded fruits and budwood of the cabugao and other fruits. Mr. D. B. Mackie, entomologist of the Bureau, first called attention to a variety of alsem in Bontoc of superior quality. M. G. B. Mead sent the first specimens of Panuban.

DESCRIPTIONS AND COMMENTS.

Citrus aurantium L. Orange.

A tree 7.5 to 12 meters in height, with a compact, conical head; bark grayish brown; thorns generally present, 12 to 50 millimeters long, sharp, stout; leaves oval or ovate oblong, 7.5 to 10 centimeters long, smooth, shining, somewhat lighter below than above, margins entire, or very slightly serrate; petiole 12 to 25 millimeters long, slightly winged ; flowers axillary in clusters of one to six, white, sweet scented, smaller than those of C. vulgaris; calyx cupped; sepals four to five, awl-shaped, thick, greenish, persistent; petals usually five, oblong, 25 to 31 millimeters long, thick, fleshy, recurved; stamens twenty to twenty-five, hypogenous, filaments flattened, united in groups, shorter than the petals; pistil distinctly divided into stigma, style and ovary; stigma knob-like; style long and slender; ovary rounded, 10 to 14 loculed; fruit globose to oblate, light orange to reddish; rind smooth; pulp juicy, subacid; juice sacs spindle shaped, sometimes larger than those of C. vulgaris; seeds few or many, oblong ovoid, planoconvex, generally broad, wedged or pointed at the micropylar end, marked with oblique ridges surrounding one or two plain areas. Native to China or Cochin China.

While the orange is nowhere planted in orchards it is fairly well distributed. Judging from the prevalence of the citrus fruits in the markets in the various parts of the Archipelago it ranks fifth in production, as compared with the mandarin, pomelo, lime, and calamondin, the only citrus fruits beside the orange that may claim to be of any economic importance even from a Philippine point of view. Excepting a few budded trees of recent importation or distribution by the Bureau of Agriculture all trees are seedlings and nearly always the fruit is poor in quality.

So far as noted, there are no variations worthy of notice.

Citrus vulgaris Risso. Sour Orange.

A small tree, 6 to 9 meters in height, with a dense compact head; young shoots light green, thorny; thorns alternate, small, sharp and pointed, on older wood larger, strong, stiff; leaves unifoliate, evergreen, alternate, ovate, pointed, strongly and peculiarly scented; petiole 12 to 18 millimeters long, broadly winged; flowers in small, axillary cymes, white, strongly sweet scented, somewhat larger than those of C. aurantium; calyx cupped, segments 4 to 5, blunt; petals linear oblong, conspicuously dotted with oil cells; stamens 20 to 24; filaments united in groups; pistil club shaped, smooth; ovary 6 to 14 loculed; fruit orange colored or frequently reddish when well matured, inclined to be rough; rind strongly aromatic, bitter; pulp acid; juice sacs spindle shaped, rather small; seeds flattened and wedged toward the micropylar end, marked with ridged lines. Native to southeastern Asia, probably in Cochin China. Hardier than the sweet orange.

Samples of what seems to be the sour orange have been received from Davao, Mindanao.

Citrus nobilis Lour. Mandarin.

A small tree 3.6 to 6 meters in height, with a dense head of upright or willowy, drooping branches; bark dark brownish or streaked with gray; branchlets light green or dark in color, small, slender, round or angled, thornless, or provided with small sharp spines; leaves small, lanceolate to oval, slightly crenate; petioles short, wingless, or with very small wings; flowers terminating the branchlets or axillary, sometimes clustered, 18 to 25 millimeters across, sweet scented; calyx small, shallow, cupped, the petals small; petals white, fleshy, recurved; stamens 18 to 23 in number, shorter than the petals; pistil small, resembling that of C. aurantium; ovary 9 to 15 loculed; fruit distinctly oblate, orange to reddish in color; pulp sweet or subacid; juice sacs broad and blunt; seeds top shaped, beaked, cotyledons pistache green; embryos one or more; sections separating readily from each other and from the rind; rind thin, oil cell somewhat balloon shaped or oval. Native to Cochin China. Generally admitted to be somewhat hardier than the sweet orange.

The mandarin is the only species in the genus Citrus that has been at all systematically planted and cared for, even though this mostly consists in the planting the trees, now and then the clearing away of the weeds with cutlasses and the harvesting of the fruit. Nevertheless the quality of the fruit is uniform and very good.

The mandarin district of the Philippines is confined to a small area principally around Santo Tom?s and Tanauan, in the Province of Batangas, and, excepting imported fruit, all mandarins marketed in the Philippines are grown in the above-mentioned region. Scattered trees are found in most parts of the Archipelago. Aside from the tizon, which is described later, and which it is believed may be referred to this species, there are no well-defined varieties of the mandarin.

Citrus nobilis var. papillaris Blanco. Tizon.

A spreading, small tree, attaining a height of 6 meters or more, in habit similar to the pomelo; spines small, or wanting; leaves 10 to 14 centimeters long, 5 to 6 centimeters broad, ovate to elliptical oblong, crenate, dark-green and shining above, crinkly, base broadly acute, apex narrowly acute to almost acuminate and caudate; petioles 17 to 20 millimeters long with narrow wing margin; flowers not seen; fruit large from 6 to 10 centimeters in diameter, 170 to 580 grams in weight, somewhat compressed at basal half, usually ending in a more or less conspicuous nipple which, however, is sometimes wanting; apex flattened, or even depressed; surface smooth, pale greenish turning to orange yellow; skin medium thin; locules 10 to 11, separable from each other and the skin like the mandarin; pulp yellowish, subacid, very juicy, and of good flavor with marked "quinine" taste; juice cells large; seeds very few, rarely more than 7.

The tizon is extremely rare and only a few trees are found in cultivation, confined to the citrus district of Batangas, Luzon. The trees are said to be quite prolific, and the fruit matures from September to December. This fruit, on account of its scarcity, is of no commercial importance. However, it would be an acceptable dessert or breakfast fruit, being a little more acid than the orange. It is said to be an introduction from Spain. The tizon is without doubt the C. papillaris described by Blanco in "Flora Filipinas."

The tizon is believed to be a natural hybrid between the mandarin and the pomelo. It has inherited the loose-skinned character, large juice cells, and partial absence of spines, and leaf character of the first-named species to which it is unquestionably more closely related than to any other species in the genus. The tizon is represented in the citrus collection at the Lamao experiment station under Bureau of Agriculture No. 744 and 745.

Citrus decumana L. Pomelo.

A tree 6 to 12 meters in height, with a rounded or conical head, and a trunk upwards of 45 centimeters in diameter; bark smooth, grayish brown; young leaves and shoots sparsely pubescent, light green; leaves ovate, blunt, pointed or rounded, emarginate, smooth, dark, glossy green, leathery, margin crenate; petioles articulated, broadly winged; flowers produced singly or in cymose clusters of 2 to 20, sweet scented; calyx cupped, large; sepals 4 to 5, pointed; corolla white, 37 to 43 millimeters across; petals 4 to 5, slightly reflexed, fleshy, oblong; stamens 20 to 25; anthers large, abundantly supplied with pollen, proterandrous; pistil stout; stigma when ripe covered with a sticky, milky fluid; ovary 11 to 14 loculed; fruit large, oblate, globose or pyriform, light lemon or orange colored; flesh grayish or pink; juice sacs large, spindle shaped; flavor a mingling of acid, bitterness and sweetness or subacid; seeds large, light colored, wedge shaped or irregular, with prominent ridges surrounding broad, flat areas. Native to the Polynesian and Malayan Archipelagos.

The pomelo is the most widely distributed species in the genus, but here as in the orange the quality of practically all the fruit is wretchedly poor, dry and insipid with a very thick skin. With the exception of the panuban, described below, there are no variations worthy of notice in this genus.

Citrus decumana L. Pomelo, var. Panuban.

A spiny tree, 3 to 4 meters tall of robust growth; young growth pubescent; leaves 12 to 17 centimeters long, 4.7 to 8 centimeters wide, oblong ovate, crenate, coriaceous; base rounded; petiole 15 to 23 millimeters long, wing margins narrow, at most 18 millimeters broad, and cuneiform; flowers not seen; fruit 5.7 centimeters long, 7 centimeters in transverse diameter, oblate, with shallow apical cavity; surface smooth, lemon yellow; skin very thin; pulp contained in 11 to 12 locules, yellowish, fairly juicy, subacid, acidity and sweetness well blended, aromatic and well flavored; seeds large, polyembryonic.

The panuban is said to bloom about New Year and the fruit ripens in September to November; the trees are reported to be very prolific. The panuban has been reported only from Lias, Bontoc, where half a dozen trees are said to grow. Possibly the panuban may be an accidental hybrid between the pomelo and the orange or mandarin; if it is simply a mutation it is certainly one of the most striking in this species. However this may be, the pomelo character is strongly dominant in both the foliage and the fruit. Very well flavored, the fruit is too dry to be acceptable to a discriminating public, but it is not improbable that under cultivation the juiciness would increase. In such a case the panuban might become a fruit of commercial importance.

B. A. No. 5160 .

Citrus mitis Blanco. Calamondin.

A small, somewhat spiny tree, 4 to 6 meters tall; young growth greenish; leaves elliptic oblong, 4 to 9 centimeters long and about 4 centimeters wide, crenulate; base acute; apex usually emarginate; petiole scarcely winged, 10 to 15 millimeters long; flowers axillary, solitary, rarely in pairs, 21 millimeters in diameter, fragrant; petals white, reflexed; stamens 18 to 20, unequal; filaments united into groups; ovary globose, 6 to 8 loculed; style slender, distinct; stigma knoblike; fruit globose, orange yellow, 2 to 4 centimeters in diameter; skin smooth, thin, brittle, separable from the flesh; pulp orange colored, juicy, acid, with distinct aroma; juice cells rather large, short, and blunt; seeds comparatively large, smooth, plump, sometimes beaked; polyembryonic.

The calamondin is widely distributed in the Philippines and occurs wild as well as cultivated. The plant makes an attractive, ornamental, small tree and the fruit may be made into marmalade or utilized in making ade. There are no particularly distinct forms of this species. The trees are almost invariably very prolific and almost everbearing. In Bohol the species is known as "limoncito."

B. A. No. 2332 .

Citrus webberii. Alsem.

A shrubby tree with small, sharp spines; leaves averaging 95 millimeters in length, and 32 millimeters in width, oblong-ovate, crenulate, dark green and shining above; base broadly acute; apex emarginate, petiole 27 millimeters long; wings rarely exceeding 12 millimeters in width; flowers terminal, rarely axillary, solitary, 20 millimeters in diameter, sweet scented; calyx small; petals white, reflexed; stamens 19 to 21, about equal; filaments united into groups of several; ovary small, obovoid, 7 to 11 loculed; style distinct, slender; stigma small, club shaped; fruit sometimes attaining a weight of 165 grams, form oblate, 58 millimeters long to 65 millimeters long to 66 across, to roundish oblate, sometimes compressed and wrinkled toward base ending in a pronounced nipple; apex a shallow depression, or mammilate with the circular depression more or less pronounced; surface smooth to fairly smooth; color greenish yellow to lemon yellow, lenticels few, depressed; skin thin, the "kid-glove" character more or less pronounced; flesh whitish to grayish, very juicy, aromatic; juice cells variable, from short and blunt to medium slender and tapering to one end; seeds ovate, flattened, smooth, sometimes beaked.

Plants of the alsem have never been seen by the writer in the provinces, the description of the plant having been made from budded plants growing at Lamao, propagated from material collected in Bulacan. The trees have a long flowering season, as fruits are offered in Manila throughout the summer to late in autumn. The variation in the fruit is very great, some being of little value, while others are extremely thin skinned, well flavored, juicy, aromatic, with less rag than perhaps any citrus fruit that has been examined by the writer. The floral characters correspond closely to those of the mandarin, which the fruit in some forms also resembles in appearance and in its loose-skinned character. Flavor and aroma place the alsem in close relationship with the cabuyao, C. histrix, and it is a curious fact that the Tagalogs always call it "cabuyao." In common with the cabuyao it is frequently infested with the rindborer, Prays citri, while the mandarin is practically immune to this pest.

An analysis made by the Bureau of Science in November, 1912, of alsem fruits purchased by the writer in Manila gave the following results:

Weight of-- Grams.

Fruit 56.5 Peel 15 Seed 1.5 Pulp 13.5 Juice 26.5

Analysis of juice.

Per cent.

Acidity 5.41 Sucrose None. Sugar 2.41 Protein .33 Ash .39

Analysis of pulp.

Per cent.

Acidity 2.73 Protein 1.03 Ash .58

The alsem was considered a variety of the mandarin in Bulletin No. 27, Plate IV, but a closer study of the plant and fruit shows that it differs so greatly from all other Philippine species of the genus as to be entitled to specific rank, and it has been named in honor of Dr. H. J. Webber, director of the citrus experiment station, Riverside, California, the association with whom, in connection with his citrus and pineapple breeding work, more than any other cause influenced the writer to take up the improvement of tropical economic plants.

The Bontoc local name "alsem" is here proposed as the vernacular name for C. webberii. In previous publications by the writer it was called the "mandarin lime," which is hardly suitable, however, since while it has certain resemblances to the mandarin yet is distinct from it, and again, its only resemblance to the lime lies in its acidity and ade-making qualities; moreover the name "mandarin lime" is too long for popular use.

B. A. No. 853 , 2275 , 4292 .

Citrus webberii var. montana. Cabugao.

A shrubby tree with slender branches and small, weak spines, sometimes absent; young growth green; leaves 8.5 to 14 centimeters long, 3 to 3.5 centimeters broad, ovate to ovate oblong, crenate, dark green above, shining; base broadly acute to rounded; apex blunt pointed, usually retuse; petiole 24 to 38 millimeters long, with narrow wing margin, in large leaves sometimes 17 millimeters broad; flowers not seen; fruit roundish oblate, about 45 millimeters across, somewhat corrugate, 8 loculed.

Budwood and fruits of the cabugao were forwarded to the Bureau by Mr. A. M. Burton, from the Mountain Province. The writer did not have the opportunity of examining the fruit, of which, however, an excellent photograph was made, and, to date of writing the plants at Lamao not having bloomed there has been no chance to examine the floral characters. The general character of the plant and fruit indicates that the cabugao is a form of the alsem.

B. A. No. 2266 .

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