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of Stanford Trees, Shrubs, and Vines
species names have been given to Citrus trees in
the course of time but they are of no use in ordering from a nursery. Practical
identification is done in terms of varietal names, which are far too numerous
to list, and in any case only a limited selection is available in a given area.
Several oranges, varieties associated with C. sinensis, especially 'Valencia,'
are grown in home gardens. 'Meyer' lemons, which are not as acid as the 'Eureka'
lemons sold in stores, are also popular in homes, as are grapefruit (C. paradisi),
kumquats (C. japonica), mandarins (C. reticulata), and limes (C. aurantifolia).
There are oranges in two planters at the Post Office, kumquats behind buildings
20 and 40, and other citrus including lemons in Citrus Court (northeast corner
of Outer Quad) and in other quad spaces. Grapefruit, and possibly limes and mandarins,
are also growing in private gardens. The citron Buddha's Hand (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylus) grows in a planter in Citrus Court. The fruit is divided into five "fingers" of all rind and no pulp. The small tree is not frost tolerant.
Oranges are probably native to Southeast Asia and did not reach Rome until
the 4th century. The lime (C. aurantifolia), credited with combating scurvy
at sea in the hands of Captain James Cook, is also thought to have originated
in Southeast Asia. The lemon (C. limon) arrived in the Mediterranean at the
beginning of the second millennium, and can be traced back to northern India.
The grapefruit (C. paradisi) was said to have originated in Jamaica. On the
other hand, the shaddocks taken to the West Indies by Captain Bligh were thought
to be native to the South Pacific, but were named for Captain James Shaddock
for having smuggled it from Southeast Asia. The kumquat comes from southern China and is treated separately under Fortunella.
The horticultural development of the citrus group has evidently obscured the
actual geographic origins. For cultural information visit http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/.
Sometimes etymology tells what our ancestors thought about botanical origins. The word orange traces back through French to Proven\c cal 'auranja' to Arabic 'n\=aranj' to Persian 'n\=arang' to Sanskrit 'n\=ara\.nga' to Dravidian territory and is remembered in modern Tamil by the word 'na\b ru' meaning sweet. What is now an orange should have been a norange. We get the word mandarin from Portuguese 'mandarim,' from Malay 'm\u ent\u eri,' from Sanskrit 'mantrin' = counselor; hence the relationship to the Chinese official and the sacred mantra. Lemon comes to us via French from Arabic 'laym\=un.' What the Pilgrim Fathers thought came from Turkey, and the French thought came from India (la dinde) in fact came from America; etymology is more a hobby than a science. Kumquat is from Cantonese 'kam' = gold, 'quat' = orange, while loquat (which is a member of the Rose not the Cirtus family) is from 'l\=o-kwat,' which means rush orange.
Illus. Citrus sinensis: McMinn, Howard E. and Evelyn Maino. 1951. An illustrated manual of Pacific coast trees; with lists of trees recommended for various uses on the Pacific coast by H. W. Shepherd. 2d ed. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press.
Illustrations (links open new windows):
Additions/Revisions:Name derivation, genus | species
Related material: Canopy Trees for Palo Alto Tree Library Botanical
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