Foster Pink (sec. Cottin 2002)
Citrus x aurantium L., pro sp. [Grapefruit Group] (sensu Mabberley 1997, Bayer et al. 2009); Citrus paradisi Macfad. (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967; sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)
Hodgson (1967) noted that: "This variety originated as a limb sport in a tree of the Walters variety in an orchard near Ellenton, Florida, and was discovered in 1907 by R. B. Foster of nearby Manatee. It was introduced in 1914 by the Royal Palms Nurseries, Oneco."
Crown compact or dense, not weeping. First-year twig surface glabrous or pubescent; second- or third-year twig surface striate; thorns straight; prickles absent or not persistent. Petiole glabrous, length medium; wings narrow or medium, adjoining the blade. Leaflets one, margin entire (by misinterpretation), crenate/crenulate or bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades flat or weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly or strongly conduplicate. Scent of crushed leaflets sweetly orange-like. Fruit as broad as long or longer than broad; rind green-yellow (6), yellow (7-10), or yellow-orange (11); rind texture slightly rough (4-5); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh red/purplish-tinged or yellow; taste grapefruit-like.
Hodgson (1967) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar:
"Fruit medium-large, oblate to spherical; basal furrows short, radiating; areolar ring indistinct; very seedy. Primary color pale to light yellow, but under favorable conditions rind blushed with pink, extending into the albedo. Rind medium-thick and surface smooth. Primary flesh color chamois, but under favorable conditions pink; flesh texture tender and juicy; flavor good. Medium-early in maturity.
Tree vigorous, large, and productive."
Bayer, R.J., D.J. Mabberley, C. Morton, C.H. Miller, I.K. Sharma, B.E. Pfeil, S. Rich, R. Hitchcock, and S. Sykes. 2009. A molecular phylogeny of the orange subfamily (Rutaceae: Aurantioideae) using nine cpDNA sequences. American Journal of Botany 96: 668–685.
Cottin, R. 2002. Citrus of the World: A citrus directory. Version 2.0. France: SRA INRA-CIRAD.
Mabberley, D.J. 1997. A classification for edible Citrus (Rutaceae). Telopea 7: 167–172.
Swingle, W.T. and P.C. Reece. 1967. The botany of Citrus and its wild relatives. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry. Ed. 2. Vol. I. University of California, Riverside. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html.
Search for this cultivar in NPGS/GRIN1
Search for this cultivar in NCBI2 Entrez
Additional information on this cultivar at University of California: Riverside Citrus Variety Collection (Foster Pink)
1GRIN: Germplasm Resources Information Network; NPGS: National Plant Germplasm System
2NCBI: National Center for Biotechnology Information
Citrus ID Edition 2
October, 2011
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