Midknight

Synonyms

Midknight Valencia, Midnight (sec. Cottin 2002); Midnight Valencia (sec. Hodgson 1967)

Cultivar or taxon

Citrus x aurantium L., pro sp. [Sweet Orange Group] (sensu Mabberley 1997, Bayer et al. 2009); Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967; sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)

Origin

Hodgson (1967) noted that: "It originated on the place of A. P. Knight at Summerville, Addo, eastern Cape Province, as a selection from a rather variable lot of budded trees ordered from Westfalia Estates (northern Transvaal) in 1927. Unfortunately, more than one clone seems to have been propagated under the same name, for two are now recognized—that characterized above and another of which the fruit is round and the tree less vigorous and more spreading. Neither clone is currently of much importance."

Description

Crown compact or dense, not weeping. First-year twig surface glabrous; second- or third-year twig surface striate; thorns absent or not persistent; prickles absent or not persistent. Petiole glabrous, length medium; wings narrow, medium, or wide, adjoining the blade. Leaflets one, margin entire (by misinterpretation) or bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly or strongly conduplicate. Scent of crushed leaflets sweetly orange-like. Fruit broader than long; rind yellow (7-10), yellow-orange (11), orange (12), or red-orange (13); rind texture slightly rough (4-5); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh orange; taste acidic-sweet.

Hodgson (1967) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar: "Midknight is a virtually seedless, medium-large, somewhat oblong fruit of excellent quality and medium-late maturity. Marloth and Basson (1955) regard this South African variety as an early Valencia selection and it is commonly called Midknight Valencia. Since it ripens earlier than Valencia and does not fruit in clusters to the same degree, it is probably best considered a variety. The tree is moderately vigorous and upright-growing, with large, broad leaves, but not as productive as standard Valencia."

References

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.

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.

Mabberley, D.J. 1997. A classification for edible Citrus (Rutaceae). Telopea 7: 167–172.

Marloth, R.H. and W.J. Basson. 1955. Midseason orange varieties. Farming in South Africa 30: 291–296.

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.

Resources

Search for this cultivar in NCBI Entrez

Additional information on this cultivar at University of California: Riverside Citrus Variety Collection