Clementine Monreal (sec. NPGS/GRIN 2010 )
Citrus reticulata Blanco [Clementine Group] (sensu Mabberley 1997); Citrus reticulata Blanco (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967); Citrus clementina hort. ex Tanaka (sensu Hodgson 1967; sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)
Hodgson (1967) noted that Monreal was found in Perregaux, Oran, in the orchard of Vincent Monreal in 1940.
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 short; wings absent, if present, narrow, adjoining the blade. Leaflets one, margin bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly or strongly conduplicate. Scent of crushed leaflets mandarin-like. Fruit broader than long; rind yellow-orange (11), orange (12), or red-orange (13); rind texture smooth (1-3) or slightly rough (4-5); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh orange; taste acidic-sweet.
Hodgson (1967) provided the following notes on Monreal and its clone, the common ordinary Clementine:
"At least two clones of Clementine are known to exist in North Africa—the common ordinary and the Montreal. While the two are indistinguishable with respect to the tree, and virtually so for the fruit, the former exhibits self-incompatibility, and hence the fruit is seedless or nearly so in the absence of cross-pollination. Evidently associated therewith is less regularity and certainty of production under unfavorable conditions of climate or orchard management. The Monreal clone...is self-compatible and without cross-pollination the fruit is regularly seedy. The bloom is much less abundant and the seeds slightly smaller. In this connection, it should be mentioned that seedy fruits average somewhat larger than seedless fruits and are also slightly sweeter. In Morocco, selections from mother trees of outstanding bearing behavior and low seed content have not shown significant differences.
With reference to sensitivity of seedless fruits, however, the almost universal experience has been one of uncertain and irregular bearing behavior because of excessive shedding of young fruits during the fruit-setting period and a few weeks thereafter. Moreover, it has been noted that shedding is inversely correlated with the seed content of the fruit. Thus, it is well established that under conditions where the ordinary Clementine is notably capricious in bearing behavior the seedy Monreal is regularly productive. Recently, it has been shown that the bearing behavior of the ordinary clone can be regularized by cross-pollination. In descending order of effectiveness as pollinators in Morocco, Chapot (1963, p. 14) lists sour or bitter orange, the Mediterranean, Dancy, and Wilking mandarins, the lemon, and the sweet oranges, including Valencia. Soost (1963) recommends the use of Dancy and Wilking in the Coachella Valley of California. There can scarcely be doubt, therefore, that the safest procedure is to provide suitable cross-pollinators or grow the Monreal clone, the fruits of which are commonly excessively seedy and hence less marketable.
Application of these cultural practices has made it practicable for Moroccan growers to establish three export categories for this variety—seedless Clementines, Clementines (maximum of 10 seeds), and Monreal (more than 10 seeds)."
Chapot, H. 1963. La clementine. Al Awamia [Rabat] 7: 1–34.
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.
Soost, R.K. 1963. Citrus pollination. California Citrograph 48: 447–452.
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 NCBI Entrez or NCBI Expressed Sequence Tags
Additional information on this cultivar at University of California: Riverside Citrus Variety Collection
Citrus ID Edition 2
October, 2011
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