Citronnelle, Jeruk Kimkit, Jeruk Kinkit, Limeberry, Trifoliate Limeberry (sec. Cottin 2002); Limonia trifolia Burm. f., Limonia trifoliata L., Triphasia aurantiola Lour., Triphasia trifoliata (L.) DC. (sec. Swingle and Reece 1967)
Triphasia trifolia (Burm. f.) P. Wilson (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967, Bayer et al. 2009); Triphasia trifoliata (Burm. f.) P. Wilson (sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)
Crown open, not weeping. First-year twig surface glabrous; second- or third-year twig surface striate; thorns straight; prickles absent or not persistent. Petiole glabrous, length short; wings absent. Leaflets three, margin bluntly toothed, rachis wings absent, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly conduplicate. Leaflets not scented when crushed. Fruit as broad as long or longer than broad; rind red or pink, orange (12), or red-orange (13); rind texture smooth (1-3); firmness membranous; navel absent.
Swingle and Reece (1967) provided the following additional notes on the species: "A glabrous shrub or small tree with terete twigs bearing paired spines in the axils of the leaves; leaves 3-foliolate, the terminal leaflet ovate with a cuneate base and a rounded emarginate tip, 2-4 X 1.5-2 cm; lateral leaflets much smaller than the terminal one (1-2-2 X 0.8-1.2 cm), broadly rounded at the tip, cuneate at the base; petiolules very short (1.5-2 cm); petioles short (3-5 mm), wingless; flowers appearing singly or 2 or 3 in the axils of the leaves; peduncles short (3-4 X 1 mm); flower buds cylindrical, 10-12 X 3-4 mm; flowers 3-merous (but with 6 stamens); sepals small (1.5-2 mm long), 3-lobed, green, persistent; petals white, 10-13 X 3.6-4.5 mm; staminal filaments slender, glabrous, 9-11 mm long, anthers oblong, 2 X 1 mm; disk annular or short-cylindric; ovary ovoid or fusiform with 3 locules, each with 1 ovule, narrowed into a slender, deciduous style with a capitate, 3-lobed stigma; fruit ovoid or subglobose, sometimes apiculate, 1.2-1.5 cm long, dull reddish-orange or crimson when fleshy ripe; peel with many small oil glands; seeds 1-3, immersed in mucilaginous pulpy flesh."
Swingle and Reece (1967) additionally noted that: "Triphasia trifolia is very widely grown in all tropical and subtropical regions as an ornamental shrub. It is also used for hedges. The fragrant white flowers are soon succeeded on the branches by the small dull-red berries (see fig. 3-14). The foliage is handsome, a shiny dark green, and the plant usually makes a round-topped shrub that does not grow too large for dooryard plantings. Triphasia trifolia has become naturalized in certain sections of the United States, in "hammocks, fields and cultivated grounds, coastal plain, Florida to Texas," according to Small (1933, p. 760)."
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.
Small, J.K. 1933. Manual of the southeastern flora. Science Press, New York. 1554 pp. (Rutaceae, pp. 756–761)
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 Nucleotide
Additional information on this cultivar at University of California: Riverside Citrus Variety Collection
Citrus ID Edition 2
October, 2011
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