Triumph

Synonyms

Early Triumph (sec. Cottin 2002)

Cultivar or taxon

Citrus x aurantium L., pro sp. [Grapefruit Group] (sensu Mabberley 1997, Bayer et al. 2009); Citrus reticulata Blanco X Citrus paradisi Macfad. (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967; sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)

Origin

Hodgson (1967) noted that:

"This was the first named grapefruit variety, having been offered to the public in 1884. The parent tree, presumably a seedling, was situated in the grounds about the Orange Grove Hotel in Tampa, Florida.

Being the first named variety, it was early and widely distributed though it did not achieve much commercial importance and has been little planted for many years."

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 medium, adjoining the blade. Leaflets one, margin bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly or strongly conduplicate. Scent of crushed leaflets sweetly orange-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); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh yellow; taste grapefruit-like.

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

"Fruit medium-small, oblate, globose, or ellipsoid; somewhat flattened at both ends; very seedy. Color pale to light yellow. Rind medium-thick with ver smooth surface. Fish tender and very juicy; flavor lacking in bitterness and exceptionally good. Early to midseason.

Tree less vigorous than most grapefruits but productive."

Notes

Hodgson (1967) additionally noted that:

"Its lack of bitterness and rich flavor are suggestive of the orange and some have thought that it might be a natural orangelo (orange-grapefruit hybrid). In lack of bitterness it rather closely resembles Imperial of California origin and is somewhat like Mott (Aurantium), Leonardy, and Royal, all of Florida origin, though the latter is even more orange-like. Indeed, these varieties appear to constitute a natural group of grapefruits in which the distinctive bitterness is lacking or they may be of hybrid origin. With the exception of Triumph, currently employed primarily for home planting, none of them has attained commercial importance.

The Jackson variety of South Africa is said to be a seedless budsport of Triumph."

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

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