Milam

Synonyms

None

Cultivar or taxon

Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck, pro sp. X ? (sensu Federici et al. 2000); Citrus x jambhiri Lush, pro sp. (sensu Mabberley 1997); Citrus x taitensis Risso (sensu Mabberley 2004, Bayer et al. 2009); Citrus jambhiri Lush. (sensu Hodgson 1967; sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)

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 serrate/serrulate, 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 yellow (7-10), yellow-orange (11), orange (12), or red-orange (13); rind texture slightly rough (4-5) or medium rough (6-7); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh orange; taste sour.

Hodgson (1967) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar under the synonymous rough lemon:

"Fruit medium in size, of highly variable form but usually oblate to elliptic-oblong; commonly with irregularly furrowed or lobed basal collar or neck; usually with broad apical nipple surrounded by a deep irregular areolar furrow. Rind medium-thick; surface typically deeply pitted, and rough or bumpy, sometimes ribbed; easily separable; color lemon-yellow to brownish-orange. Segments about 10; axis large and hollow. Flesh color light yellow to pale orange; medium juicy; flavor moderately acid. Seeds numerous, small, highly polyembryonic, and cotyledons faintly green. Some crop throughout the year but mainly in winter.

Tree vigorous and large, upright-spreading, with numerous small thorns; leaves medium-small, blunt-pointed, and light green. Flowers small and mandarin-like, purple-tinged, and produced more or less throughout year, but mainly in spring and late summer. New shoot growth faintly purple-tinted. Sensitivity to cold about like that of true lemons."

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.

Chapot, H. 1965. Le Citrus volkameriana Pasquale. Al Awamia [Rabat] 14: 29–45.

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. 2004. Citrus (Rutaceae): A review of recent advances in etymology, systematics and medical applications. Blumea 49: 481–498.

Resources

Search for this cultivar in NCBI Entrez