Citrus aurantium L., Rutaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Citrus bigarradia Loisel.; Citrus vulgaris Risso

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: kahet

Chinese: suan cheng

Chuukese: kurukur, kurukuri

English: bigarade, bitter orange, Seville orange, sour orange

Fijian: moli jamu, moli kurukuru

French: bigaradier, oranger amer

Mangarevan: orangi

Niuean: moli

Pohnpeian: orens

Samoan: moli ‘aina, moli aina, moli ‘aina, moli sāmoa, moli sāmoa

Spanish: naranja agria, naranja amarga

Tahitian: avani

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree; spines slender, usually short; but stout spines up to 7-8 cm long on youngest fast-growing shoots; leaves ovate, blunt, on petioles 2-3 cm long, rather broadly winged, narrowing toward base; flowers bisexuual with a few staminate; fruits subspherical, 5-10 cm broad, orange, slightly rough; pulp orange, but very sour; center becoming hollow at last, hence fruit able to float"  (Stone, 1970; pp. 353-354).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Presumably a native of southeastern Asia (Smith, 1985; pp. 520-521).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ofu Island	cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1945) (p. 44) "A few seedling trees are found around every village".
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Olosega Island	cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1945) (p. 44) "A few seedling trees are found around every village".
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ta‘u Island	cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1945) (p. 44) "A few seedling trees are found around every village".
American Samoa Swain's Island	Swain's Island	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A. (1983) (p. 14) Voucher cited: Whistler 3431
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island	introduced	Setchell, William Albert (1924) (p. 86)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Aguijan (Agiguan, Aguihan) Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 39)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Asuncion Island	introduced cultivated	Falanruw, M. V. C. (1989) (p. 8)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Asuncion Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Falanruw, M. V. C./Sachet, M.-H. (1977) (p. 30) Voucher cited: Falanruw 3091 (US)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 39)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 122)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 39)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) Observed in survey, no herbarium record.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) Observed in survey, no herbarium record.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Santiago Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Namoluk (Nómwunuuk) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 122)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Namoluk (Nómwunuuk) Atoll	introduced invasive cultivated	Marshall, Mae/Fosberg, F. R. (1975) (p. 37) Voucher cited: Marshall 64 (US)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Nukuoro Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 122)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 122)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 133) Vouchers cited: E. Eperiam 28 (NY), M.C. Neal 46 (BISH), S.H. Riesenberg 46 (BISH)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 520-521)
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Agakauitai Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Akamaru Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Aukena Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Taravai Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Taravai Island	introduced cultivated	St. John, Harold (1988) (p. 16) Voucher cited: St. John 14762 (BISH)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2003) (voucher ID: PTBG 39349) Taxon name on voucher: Citrus #aurantium
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Mehetia (Mahetia, Meetia) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 135)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 135)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 135)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Makatea (Ma‘atea) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 353-354) Voucher cited: Stone 4232 (GUAM)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 122)
Kiribati Line Islands	Flint Island	introduced cultivated	St. John, Harold/Fosberg, F. Raymond (1937) (p. 4) Voucher cited: St. John & Fosberg 17454 (BISH)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 124) Vouchers cited: Baumann & Guillaumin 7155, Hürlimann 59, MacKee 40832 Spontané
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 182)
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 70) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9760 (BISH) "A few trees grow spontaneously along roadsides and in thickets"
Palau Palau (main island group)	Palau Islands (main island group)		Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2010) (p. 41)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	introduced cultivated	Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 277) Planted, abundant.
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 342) Usually or always planted.
Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands	Pitcairn Island	introduced	St. John, H. (1987) (p. 38) Voucher cited: Fosberg & B. Christian 11302

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Cultivated and sometimes naturalized in most of China S of the Qin Ling.

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island		Stoddart, D. R./Taylor, J. D., eds. (1971) (p. 152) "Bitter oranges recorded by Bourne (Hemsley 1884, p. 334)."
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. Arthur (1996) (p. 34)
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Rivers, Julie (2004) (pp. 5, 8)
Maldives Maldive Islands	Maldive Islands		Fosberg, F. R. (1957) (p. 22)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 136)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 60)

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

Additional information:
Additional online information about Citrus aurantium is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Citrus aurantium as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Citrus aurantium may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Falanruw, M. V. C. 1989. Vegetation of Asuncion, a volcanic northern Mariana Island. Pac. SW Forest and Range Expt. Stn. Resource Bull. PSW-28. USDA Forest Service. 11 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R. 1957. The Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 58. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 37 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Falanruw, M. V. C./Sachet, M.-H. 1977. Additional records of vascular plants from the northern Mariana Islands. Micronesica 13: 27-31.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. 1983. List of the recorded vascular flora of Agalega. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Palau. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 44 pp.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Marshall, Mae/Fosberg, F. R. 1975. The natural history of Namoluk Atoll, eastern Caroline Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 189. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 53 pp + photos.

Merlin, M./Juvik, J. 1996. Irá me neeniier nón Chuuk: Plants and their Environments in Chuuk. Program on Environment, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, 121 pp. .

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty]. 1984. Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago for naturalists. Office of Forests, Division of Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. 638 pp. ISBN 9980-66-000-7.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

Rivers, Julie. 2004. Botanical survey update of Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipeligo, British Indian Ocean Territory. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific. 16 pp. plus "List of the higher plants of Diego Garcia".

Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. 1983. Vegetation of Frégate Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Setchell, William Albert. 1924. American Samoa; part I. Vegetation of Tutuila Island. part II. Ethnobotany of the Samoans. part III. Vegetation of Rose Atoll. The Carnegie Institution of Washington. 275 pp. + illus.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

St. John, H. 1987. An account of the flora of Pitcairn Island with new Pandanus species. Pacific Plant Studies 46. Honolulu, 65 pp. [Privately published].

St. John, Harold. 1988. Census of the Flora of the Gambier Islands, Polynesia. Pacific Plant Studies 43. Honolulu, Hawaii. 34 pp. [Privately published].

St. John, Harold/Fosberg, F. Raymond. 1937. Vegetation of Flint Island, Central Pacific. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers XII(24):1-4.

Stoddart, D. R./Taylor, J. D., eds. 1971. Geography and ecology of Diego Garcia Atoll, Chagos Archipelago. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 149. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 237 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Topp, J. M. W. 1988. An annotated check list of the flora of Diego Garcia, British Ocean Territory. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 313. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 21 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Whistler, W. A. 1983. The flora and vegetation of Swains Island. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 262. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 25 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Plants in Samoan culture: The ethnobotany of Samoa. Isle Botanica. 234 pp. ISB: 0-9645426-6-8.

Whistler, W. Arthur. 1996. Botanical survey of Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipelago, British Indian Ocean Territory. Isle Botanica. 49 pp.

World Health Organization. 1998. Medical plants in the South Pacific. Regional Office for the Western Pacific, Manila. 254 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1943. The flora of Niue Island. Bishop Mus. Bull. 178. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 126 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1945. Plants of the Manua Islands. Bishop Mus. Bull. 184. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 73 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).