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Identifying Citrus Tree

8 years ago

We just moved to a new house in June and have been trying to figure out what this fruit is. At first we thought they were limes but then they kept getting bigger and bigger. Then we thought they were grapefruits or pomelo. They're HUGE! Haven't tried them recently but a few months ago, we tried and they were VERY sour.

Can anyone identify it? We had a friend say that hopefully it isn't a "Japanese yuzu" because they cut down their tree (it was too sour).

No clue!

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Comments (3)

BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area
8 years ago
Probably it's the root stock that's grown when the top graft died. In other words, most named citrus varieties are grafted onto a root stock of another variety. Usually the root stock will be more vigorous or be better adapted to the soil, or better disease resistance. Anyway, often the top part dies for some reason and the bottom root stock will start to grow it's own leaves and fruit.

Your's looks a lot like the root stock "Cuban Shaddock", it's a pomelo/lemon cross. it has better fruit than some root stocks and can be a decent lemon substitute. It's not a "Yuzu", for sure.

Too bad your neighbors cut theirs down. "Yuzu" is a nice fruit. Yes it's sour, but so are lemons and limes. It's used for cooking and the peel is very aromatic. I love mine. I also like my "Cuban Shaddock", it's also good for cooking with.
citrange2
8 years ago
Yes, it could well be a Cuban Shaddock - seehttp://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/cuban_shaddock.html

If you post a picture of the lower part of the trunk of your tree it might be possible to tell if it is the original rootstock which has taken over.

On the other hand, it could be a true pummelo variety. They do take a long time on the tree to fully sweeten, but in a suitably warm climate make a delicious fruit.

Yuzu is a Japanese speciality fruit much sought after by Japanese people living abroad. It is also increasingly used by top chefs in gourmet restaurants. A pity your neighbour didn't appreciate it! My potted yuzu (in a non-citrus climate) produced five fruits this year. They were converted into a kind of yuzu curd cheesecake. Absolutely delicious, with a very distinct yuzu flavour.
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backb: If your plant is deciduous, it could be Poncirus trifoliata. If it retains some leaves in winter it could be a trifoliata hybrid (like Citrange). In either case, it is rootstock. I would throw it out and start fresh. jewer49: Definiately any growth with trifoliate leaves needs to be removed. That trifoliate rootstock will soon take over and you will have no orange tree left. Saw off all those vigorous trifoliate branches that are growing near the ground (what appear in the photo to be lighter gray I believe). I think there's still time to save your tree. You should see a surge in growth of your orange tree next spring. You may want to wait to cut though until just before bloom. I don't know where you live and you don't want to force early growth and subject it to late hard frosts.
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Since it was sold as a lemon, I would be willing to bet a good chunk that's what it is. Certainly not enough evidence to the contrary at this point. The purple tinged theory obviously is not a reliable indicator. I've never seen it on my lemons either, and it probably has to do with differences in light levels. If you're still really eager to ID this thing before it flowers/fruits, grab a magnifying glass and go through the citrus key at the website below. Leaf and twig morphology just might be enough to be sure of what it is. http://idtools.org/id/citrus/citrusid/
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Comments (9)
Yes, but most citrus grow true-to-type from seed due to Nucellar embryony... certainly most oranges and grapefruit. Exceptions are Meyer lemon, 'Temple' oranges, Clementines, Persian lime, most pummelos, I think. Tangors and Tangelos put off a high % of nucellar seedlings. According to my notes where I keep my citrus information, I had this filed away. This is a quote from Dr. Malcolm Manners, professor of Citrus Science at Florida Southern College: 'Nearly all of the sweet oranges (C. sinensis) come true-to type from seed. A few (some navels, 'Pineapple') make minor variations in their seedlings, even though they are technically nucellar. Nearly all grapefruit also come true-to-type. The only exception I can think of is 'Thompson Pink' which produces 'Marsh Seedless' seedlings, since it is a periclinal chimera, and the mutant tissue is not in the layer that makes the seeds. The vast majority of mandarin types are also nucellar, and therefore, come true-to-type. Also, nearly all lemons, 'Key' Lime, and most other sour-fruited types come true. Persian limes do not. Meyer is monoembryonic, so does not come true-to-type from seed. Actually, the list of citrus that don't come true is quite small.'
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Comments (2)
Vigorous shoots often have longer thorns, depending on the variety. It's probably just responding to the better growing environment. I'd leave them. You can trim off each thorn if you like.
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poncirusguy6b452xx
8 years ago
Here is my Meyer lemon converted to Cuban Shaddock
very productive potential

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