Poncirus trifoliata (L. (1838))

Trifoliolate orange is usually cultivated as an ornamental. A hardy plant and quite resistant to cold, it is used as a root stock for grafting other citurs fruits. The summer flower buds are protected by scales through winter and bloom in the spring before the leaves appear. (Bailey, l.c.).

Deciduous shrub, c. 3.5 m tall. Leaflets sessile, 22-40 x 10-20 mm, obovate to ovate, crenate, often emarginate. Floral buds scaly. Flowers almost sessile, Calyx 5-segmented. Petals 2 mm, obovate, shortly clawed. Stamens 20-23, free. Ovary 6-7-locular. Rind orange, rough, finely pubescent. Pulp greenish, acidic and oily. Seeds glabrous.

Distribution: Japan & N. China.

Fl. Per.: March-April.