Mesero

Synonyms

Blanco, de Murcie, Fino, Primafiori, Primofiori (sec. Cottin 2002)

Cultivar or taxon

Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck, pro sp. (sensu Mabberley 1997, Bayer et al. 2009); Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f. [=Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck, pro sp.] (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967)

Origin

Hodgson (1967) notes that: "This variety, of unknown Spanish origin, is said to be preferred by processors, but is much less extensively grown than Berna. It should not be confused with the Primofiore of Italy which refers to fruit produced from the first or spring bloom."

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 short, wings absent. Leaflets one, margin bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly conduplicate. Scent of crushed leaflets freshly lemon-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) or medium rough (6-7); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh yellow; taste sour.

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

"Fruit spherical to oval; nipple comparatively small and sharp-pointed; moderately seedy. Paler in color than Berna and rind smoother and thinner. Also higher in juice and acid content. Crop comes mainly in winter.

Tree exceptionally vigorous, attaining large size, very thorny, and highly productive. Foliage density and leaf size greater than Berna."

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.

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