The Philippine Agricultural Review Part 3

The biasong has been collected in Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete, Negros, and in the Zamboanga and Misamis Provinces in Mindanao, in all of which it is sparingly cultivated. The flowers were described from material collected in Bohol in May. Ripe fruit has been obtained in May, June, August, November, and February, indicating that the species is more or less everbearing. The fruit is used by the native inhabitants as a hair wash, is not eaten, and is of no economic importance.

Particularly noticeable in the biasong are the small flowers, with less stamens than any other species, and the oblong-obovate, few-loculed fruits.

The "balincolong," by the Filipinos regarded as quite a different fruit, found in Bohol and in Misamis, Mindanao, is a more robust tree attaining a height of 12 meters, and has longer wings and thicker leaves, with smoother fruits which sometimes are almost round, but these differences scarcely justify this form to rank as a subspecies even. Beginning in May, the balincolong (1982) has bloomed continuously at Lamao until date of writing (Dec. 18).

Biasong, B. A. No. 2502, 4829 (Bohol), Balincolong, No. 4834 (Bohol), 1981, 1982 (Misamis, Mindanao).

Citrus micrantha var. microcarpa. Samuyao.

(Pl. VIIb.)

A shrubby tree, 4.5 meters tall, with slender branches and small, weak spines; leaves 55 to 80 millimeters long, 20 to 25 millimeters broad, ovate to ovate-oblong or elliptical, crenulate, thin, of distinct fragrance, base rounded to broadly acute; apex obtuse, sometimes notched, petioles 20 to 30 millimeters long, broadly winged, about 14 millimeters wide, wing area somewhat less than one-half of the leaf blade; flowers in compact axillary or terminal cymes, 2 to 7, small, 5 to 9 millimeters in diameter, white, with trace of purple on the outside; calyx small, not cupped, petals 3 to 5; stamens 15 to 18, free, equal; ovary very small, globose to obovate; locules 7 to 9, style distinct; stigma small, k.n.o.b like; fruit 15 to 20 millimeters in diameter, roundish in outline; base sometimes nippled; apex an irregular, wrinkly cavity; surface corrugate, greenish lemon yellow; oil cells usually sunken; skin very thin; pulp fairly juicy, acid, bitter with distinct aroma; juice cells very minute, blunt, containing a small, greenish nucleus; seeds small, flattened, sometimes beaked.

The samuyao occurs sparingly in cultivation in Cebu and Bohol. Flowers were collected in May, partly grown fruits were also obtained, and ripe fruits have been collected in June, and from November to February, showing that the plant is more or less everbearing. The fruit is used by the Filipinos as a hair wash, and is of no economic importance.

Throughout, the samuyao gives an impression of dwarfness, by its small size, weak spines, small, and thin leaves; the flowers are even smaller than in the biasong and the fruit is in all probability the smallest in the genus.

In Bohol a somewhat more vigorous variety of samuyao was found which is named "samuyao-sa-amoo." The fruits of samuyao-sa-amoo are a little larger, and smoother, and longer than broad, otherwise similar to the samuyao.

Samuyao, B. A. No. 2371, 2509 (Cebu), 2530, 4821 (Bohol); Samuyao-sa-amoo 2533, 4832 (Bohol).

Citrus medica L. Citron.

A shrub or small tree, about 3 meters high, with a short, indistinct trunk and short, thick, irregular, straggling, th.o.r.n.y branches; bark light gray; thorns short, sharp, rather stout; young shoots smooth, violet colored or purplish, stiff; leaves large, 10 to 15 centimeters long, oval oblong, serrate or somewhat crenate, dark green above, lighter beneath; flowers small, axillary, in compact cl.u.s.ters of 3 to 10, often unins.e.xual; calyx small, cupped; corolla white within, tinged with purple on the outside; petals oblong, the tips incurved; stamens short, irregular in length, 40 to 45 in number; pistil small; [2] ovary 9 to 12 loculed or occasionally more; fruit lemon yellow, large, 15 to 22 centimeters long, oblong, rough or warty, sometimes ridged; apex blunt pointed; rind thick, white, except for the outer colored rim; pulp spa.r.s.e; juice scant, acid, and somewhat bitter or sweetish; juice sacs small, slender; seeds oval, plump, light colored, smooth. Probably native to India, or it may have been introduced there from farther east, China or Cochin China. Extremely sensitive to cold.

The citron is the rarest of all the old cultivated citrus in the Philippines and is very seldom seen in the markets.

Citrus medica var. odorata. Tihi-tihi.

(Pl. VIIa.)

A small, th.o.r.n.y shrub, seldom exceeding 2.5 meters in height, with sharp, stout spines; young growth bright green; leaves 7.5 to 11 centimeters long, 4.3 to 6.5 centimeters broad, elliptical, rather thick and leathery, serrate, of distinct fragrance; base rounded; apex notched; petioles very short 4 to 6 millimeters long, not winged; flowers 1 to 4 in axillary compressed cymes, sessile, rarely exceeding 38 millimeters in diameter; calyx large, prominently cupped; petals 4 to 5, fleshy, white, with a tinge of purple on the outside; stamens 36 to 42, unequal, shorter than stigma; filaments united in groups of 4 to 6; pollen abundant; gynoecium frequently aborted; ovary elevated on a bright green disk, large, 4 millimeters long, 13 to 14 loculed; style tapering from ovary, scarcely more slender, rather short; stigma large, k.n.o.b like, and cleft; fruit 60 to 65 millimeters long, 7 to 10 centimeters in transverse diameter, weighing 300 to 475 grams, oblate, with a shallow basal cavity, and sometimes a mammilate apex, more or less ridged longitudinally, fairly smooth, clear lemon yellow; lenticels scattered, depressed; oil cells large, equal or a trifle raised; skin rather thick; pulp grayish, rather dry, sharply acid, of lemon flavor; juice cells long and slender; seeds many--sometimes 125 in a single fruit--short, broad, and flattened.

The tihi-tihi is a rare plant found in cultivation in Cebu and Bohol; one plant has been seen in Misamis, Mindanao. The plant is very precocious, fruiting as early as the third year from seed, everbearing, and is used by the Filipinos in was.h.i.+ng the hair. It is not eaten, and is of no commercial importance.

The tihi-tihi differs from the citron in its green, tender, highly aromatic growth, the leaves having been found to contain 0.6 per cent essential oil as a.n.a.lyzed by the Bureau of Science. The fruit is strikingly different from the citron.

B. A. No. 19 (Cebu).

Citrus medica var. na.n.u.s.

A small, th.o.r.n.y shrub, rarely exceeding 2 meters in height, with small, sharp spines; leaves 7 to 11 centimeters long, 2.5 to 4.5 centimeters broad, narrowly oblong ovate to elliptical oblong, serrate, darker above than beneath; base rounded; apex frequently notched; petiole 5 to 7 millimeters long, wingless; flowers 2 to 10, in axillary or terminal, rather loose cymes, 3 to 4 centimeters in diameter; calyx large, cupped; petals linear oblong, with tips slightly incurved, white, with trace of purple on the outside; stamens 36 to 50, unequal; filaments usually united into groups, sometimes free; gynoecium sometimes wanting; ovary large, oblong, 10 to 12 loculed; style not distinct, of nearly the same thickness as ovary; stigma large, superior to anthers, k.n.o.b shaped; fruit 65 or more millimeters long, 55 millimeters in diameter, ellipsoid to almost roundish, pointed at apex, lemon yellow, smooth; rind medium thick; pulp grayish to greenish, acid, rather dry; juice cells long and slender, almost linear; seeds many, rather small, flattened, smooth.

The plant is rather common in the Archipelago, and has been noted in Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, and Cebu. It is frequently grown and fruited in small pots, and is probably the smallest species in the genus. It is surprisingly productive and precocious, fruiting as early as the second year from seed, and is practically everbearing. The fruit is eaten by the Filipinos but is too dry to be cultivated for the flesh and the skin is too thin for utilization as citron peel.

B. A. No. 27 (Cebu), 2384 (Laguna).

Citrus limonum Risso. Lemon.

A small tree 3 to 6 meters in height, with rather open head of short, round or angular branches, th.o.r.n.y; bark grayish; young shoots purplish, smooth; leaves evergreen, alternate, 50 to 75 millimeters in length, ovate oval, sharp pointed, light green, margin serrate; petioles entirely wingless; flowers solitary, occasionally in pairs, axillary, on distinct peduncles; calyx persistent, segments 4 or 5; corolla large, 38 to 50 millimeters across, white inside, purplish outside; petals oblong, spreading, strongly reflexed; stamens 20 to 26, separate, or more or less united in small groups; ovary considerably elevated on a prominent disk, 7 to 10 loculed; fruit ripening at all seasons, ovoid or oblong, and pointed at both base and apex, about 75 millimeters long, smooth or rough, light yellow in color; rind thin, flesh light colored; pulp acid; juice sacs long and pointed; seeds oval, pointed at the micropylar end, quite smooth. Native of the same regions as the citron.

The true lemon is very rarely cultivated in the Philippines and all lemons used are imported from California, Australia and Spain.

Citrus pseudolimonum. Colo-colo.

(Pl. VIIa.)

A th.o.r.n.y shrub, 3 meters tall, with interlocking branches, and short, sharp spines; leaves 8 to 11 centimeters long, 40 to 45 millimeters broad, elliptical to oblong-ovate, crenulate to serrulate; base rounded; apex obtuse, frequently slightly notched; petioles 18 to 25 millimeters long, with narrow wing margin, rarely exceeding 10 millimeters in width; flowers 1 to 5, in terminal or axillary short cymes, 28 to 35 millimeters in diameter, white, purplish outside; calyx cupped; stamens 30 to 37, nearly always free, unequal; ovary broadly obovoid, 14 to 18 loculed; style distinct; fruit roundish to pyriform, small, usually compressed at base; apex irregular; surface greenish lemon, more or less corrugate; oil cells raised; skin comparatively thick; pulp acid; juice cells small, short and plump; seeds undeveloped and sterile.

The colo-colo is another of these peculiar Philippine species with more or less winged petioles affiliated to the lemon, etc. Flowers were collected in May, and ripe fruit has been examined in January and February. The nearly always free stamens in a plant belonging to the same general group as the lemon is of interest.

Near the colo-colo is the "lombog," considered a distinct fruit, also found in Bohol. This variety is less vigorous than the colo-colo and also differs from the plant in having narrower wing margins and 21 to 28 stamens and 9 to 11 locules. The fruit is said to be about 4.5 centimeters in diameter and similar in shape to that of the colo-colo.

The "kunot" is a third variety considered distinct by the Boholanos that also may be referred to C. pseudolimonum.

To C. pseudolimonum may perhaps also be referred a th.o.r.n.y, arborescent shrub, attaining a height of 4.5 meters, found in Siquijor, a little island south of Negros. Material of this was collected in August, 1912, by the writer, at which time the tree bore partly grown, oblong, rough, small fruits. The plants at Lamao have flowered during the last two months but have not set fruit. The princ.i.p.al difference in this variety from the colo-colo and lombog is in the number of stamens, here 36 to 41.

The fruits of C. pseudolimonum have no economic value.

Colo-colo, B. A. No. 2535, 4825; Lombog, No. 2498, 4827 (Bohol), 1953 (Siquijor).

Citrus limetta Risso. Lime.

A shrub or tree of straggling habit, with small, stiff interlocking or drooping, th.o.r.n.y branches, the thorns small, sharp, numerous; bark grayish brown; young branchlets light green, becoming darker with age; leaves elliptic-oval, glossy green in color, margin slightly indented; petioles margined; flowers small, produced in axillary cl.u.s.ters of 3 to 10; calyx small, four to five pointed; corolla white on both inner and outer surfaces; petals 4 to 5, oblong, fleshy; stamens small, 20 to 25, united in a number of groups; ovary about 10 loculed; fruit rounded or oblong, frequently mammilate, light yellow; rind thin; pulp greenish, acid; juice sacs small, slender, pointed; seeds small, oval, pointed. Native to India and southeastern Asia.

The lime, in Luzon known as "dayap," ranks third in importance among the citrus fruits cultivated in the Philippines, and now and then excellent fruit is found in the market, showing what could be done in growing first-cla.s.s fruit if pains were taken to do a little selection work and plant budded trees.

Citrus limetta var. aromatica.

A spiny shrub, with rather slender, willowly, drooping branches, and sharp spines; young growth light green, of pleasant and distinct odor when bruised; leaves 7.5 to 10 centimeters long, 3.5 to 5 centimeters broad, ovate oblong to elliptical, serrate to crenate, dull green above; base rounded to broadly acute; apex frequently notched; petiole 6 to 19 millimeters long with a narrow wing margin; flowers solitary or in cymes to 4, terminal or axillary, 28 to 35 millimeters across; calyx rather large, cupped; petals 4 to 5, white with a trace of purple on the outside; stamens unequal, 28 to 32, more or less united; ovary large, oblong, 12 to 13 loculed; style not distinct as in C. aurantium but rather similar to that in C. medica, a trifle more slender than the ovary; fruit 5 centimeters long, 4 to 4.5 centimeters across, roundish to roundish oblong, lemon yellow, smooth; skin thin; pulp pale green, juicy, sharply acid, sometimes almost bitter; juice cells long, slender and pointed; seeds very numerous, small and plump, polyembryonic.

This form seems to be fairly well distributed and material has been propagated at Lamao from such distinct points as Mindoro, Palawan and Benguet. Unquestionably a lime, it is quite distinct from the ordinary lime in habit, and in the aromatic tender foliage and purplish-petaled flowers on the outside, which are larger than those in the lime, the number of stamens also exceeding those of the lime.