Citrus cavaleriei seed

LATIN NAME: Citrus cavaleriei

COMMON NAME: Big-winged Citrus

The big-winged citrus arches the strong, angular branchlets with the long, winged petioles, the glossy, dark green leaves, and the small, pale flowers with the strong, clean scent, through the late spring. The Chinese cavaleriei citrus is one of the hardy members of the orange family, carrying the thick, rough rinds on the small, rounded fruits, and the whole tree keeps the neat, airy shape of the sheltered garden. The young growth flushes with the bronze tints, and the sharp, aromatic oils in the leaves and the rinds give the plant its own clear place in the citrus world. It is a tree of the mild, moist, sheltered ground, with the open, sunny position and the deep, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Citrus breeders have kept the cavaleriei citrus in their notebooks for a century, because this wild orange carries a cold tolerance that the commercial fruits lost along the way. The species serves as rootstock and as a parent in hybrid programmes; the tissue-culture labs multiply clean lines from the small shoot tips, and the molecular work traces its fingerprints through the family tree of the modern oranges and the lemons. Nurserymen rely on its seed coming true enough for the rootstock beds, while the geneticists keep an eye on the wild stands for the genes that the orchards no longer hold.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Around this hardy citrus, a practical economy has grown. The rough-skinned fruits make the tart, fragrant marmalade, the peel yields the aromatic oils that the soap and the perfume trade use, and the flowers draw the bees through the late spring. In the garden the tree earns attention for the glossy, winged foliage and the clean scent, while the dense canopy gives the nesting cover to the birds. For the growers of the cool, mild climates, it is the way to keep a piece of the orange family without the frost worries.

The big-winged citrus seeds start well in a moist, peaty mix kept warm and bright. Keep the surface evenly damp, and the first green shoots push through within a few weeks. Once the seedlings hold their second pair of true leaves, move them into their own pots of rich, loamy compost. They grow on steadily through the warm months, and the young trees enjoy the long, sheltered summer in the open air before the first cold nights come. Water them through the dry spells, and they will soon carry the first glossy leaves and the strong, angular stems.

To grow the big-winged citrus from seed, sow the fresh, plump seeds evenly into the cell tray of moist, peaty mix, keep the tray in the warm, bright spot and water gently. The seedlings appear within a few weeks, and they grow on steadily. Grow the young trees on in the sunny, sheltered corner, and the fragrant flowers will arch over the years.