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Please help me identify my oranges

14 years ago

We moved into our home a year ago. There back fence is lined with citrus trees. We have a tangerine, a grapefruit, a big old lemon, 2 trees that I believe are navel oranges, and one mystery orange. Last year there was no fruit on the mystery tree. This year, it exploded! (I'll link to pics)

It is right next to the old lemon tree (about 10-15 feet away at the trunks) The tree has big, mean spikes that are about 2-3 inches long all along the branches. The fruit is maybe a little larger than a tennis ball, round and orange (but not a very bright orange) The inside is pale orange as well. The fruit has LOOKED ripe and orange for about 2 months, but I squeezed a little juice yesterday and it tasted just like a lemon.

I have read that valencia oranges ripen later, but I don't know if that's what I have, or if the lemon tree somehow managed to cross with the orange.

Below are links to the pictures.

(Note the trees still need some TLC and good pruning. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing... my thumb tends to be a little brown)

Lemon Tree:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h154/kat82501/P1090444.jpg

The Orange? in question:

(I can't believe how heavy with fruit these branches are!)

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h154/kat82501/P1090443.jpg

Tangerine:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h154/kat82501/P1090441.jpg

Thanks for your help!

~Katherine

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Comments (5)

xentar_gw
14 years ago
Even an unrip orange would have some sweetness to it and wouldn't taste like a lemon. My first impressions of your description would be a trifoliate orange, but seeing the pic, the leaves aren't right for that. It could be a Seville Orange or Chinotto Sour Orange, or?
0
destin_gardener
14 years ago
It's definitely not a Chinotto Sour Orange, (these have very small leaves not much more than an inch long, they are also called mrytle leaf orange). Could be a Seville Sour Orange though.
0
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malcolm_manners
14 years ago
My first guess was Chinotto, but I think destin is right -- the leaves aren't small enough. But they are too small (as are the fruit) for Seville. What are the petioles like? (the stem-like things that attach the leaf blade to the actual stem) -- notice on your lemon that they are cylindrical with no "wings," whereas on your grapefruit, they have big wings. (It is nice that you have these others to compare to). If there are no wings on your unknown fruit, consider rangpur lime (Citrus limonia) as a possibility. If there are substantial wings, I would still think some sort of sour orange (Citrus aurantium).
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tolumnia
14 years ago
Perhaps a Meyer lemon?
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malcolm_manners
14 years ago
Neither fruit nor leaves looks like 'Meyer'.
0

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