Meiwa

Synonyms

Chinkan, Jin Dan, Jindan, Jinxuan, Neiha-kinkan, Ninpo (sec. Cottin 2002)

Cultivar or taxon

Citrus japonica Thunb. (sensu Zhang and Mabberley 2008); Fortunella x crassifolia Swingle, pro sp. (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967); Fortunella crassifolia Swingle (sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)

Origin

Hodgson (1967) noted that: "So far as can be determined, this fruit (Nagami or oval form) was first introduced into Europe in 1846 by Robert Fortune, a plant explorer and collector for the London Horticultural Society, who found it in China (Fortune 1846). it must have been sent to the United States soon thereafter, for it is described and illustrated in the February, 1850, edition of Downing's Horticulturist (Webber, 1943, p. 640). The round-fruited form Marumi was introduced from Japan into Florida in 1885, and the Meiwa and Hongkong kumquats were brought in by the U.S. Department of Agriculture between 1910 and 1912 (Webber 1943).

The Chiefland Budwood Facility (2010) provided the following notes on the cultivar (clone F-27-29): "Fortunella crassifolia. Origin: China, probably hybrid of two species of Fortunella ."

Description

Crown compact or dense, not weeping. First-year twig surface glabrous; second- or third-year twig surface striate; thorns straight; prickles absent or not persistent. Petiole glabrous, length medium; wings narrow, adjoining the blade. Leaflets one, margin entire, crenate/crenulate or bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate. Sun leaflet blades weakly or strongly conduplicate. Scent of leaflets freshly lemon-like. Fruit as broad as long or longer than broad; rind green-yellow (6), yellow (7-10), yellow-orange (11), or orange (12); rind texture smooth (1-3) or slightly rough (4-5); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh orange or yellow; taste acidic-sweet.

 

Hodgson (1967) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar:

"This species is the Ninpo, Meiwa or Neiha kinkan of Japan. The most distinctive features of this kumquat are the short oblong to round form and relatively large size of the fruit, the more numerous sections (commonly seven), the very thick and sweet rind and comparatively sweet flavor, and the low seed content (many fruits are seedless).

 

While Swingle originally (1915) considered it to be a valid species, he later concluded that this variety is a natural hybrid between the oval and round kumquats ([Swingle 1967])."

 

The Chiefland Budwood Facility (2010) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar (clone F-27-29): "Description: Very few seeds 3-5, rind sweet and very thick, less juice but best variety for fresh eating, thornless tree, less cold hardy than Nagami, avoid Swingle rootstock, P. tri frequently used. Season: November-April"

References

Chiefland Budwood Facility. 2010. 2010 Annual report July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010. Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Winter Haven.

Cottin, R. 2002. Citrus of the World: A citrus directory. Version 2.0. France: SRA INRA-CIRAD.

Fortune, R. 1846. Sketch of a visit to China in search of new plants. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society [London] 1: 208–223.

Hodgson, R.W. 1967. Horticultural varieties of Citrus. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry, rev. University of California Press. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter4.html.

Swingle, W.T. 1915. A new genus, Fortunella , comprising four species of kumquat oranges. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 5:165–76.

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.

Webber, H.J. 1943. Cultivated varieties of citrus. In: Webber, H.J. and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry. I: 475-668. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Zhang, D. and D.J. Mabberley. 2008. Citrus. In: Flora of China Editorial Committee (eds.). Flora of China, Vol. 11. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

Resources

Search for this cultivar in NCBI Entrez or NCBI Nucleotide

Additional information on this cultivar at University of California: Riverside Citrus Variety Collection (2, 3)