Citrus nobilis Loureiro, Rutaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: king orange, King-of-Siam, tangor

French: mandarinier king

Spanish: mandarina, tangor

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A small tree 4 to 5 or rarely to 6 meters high, the branches spreading or pendulous, the crown somewhat globose.  Leaves 11 cm long, with narrowly winged petiole.  Flowers...terminal, solitary or paired, 3.2 cm across, the stamens 20-27.  Fruit...compressed globose, about 9 cm across, the rind deep orange, rough, loose from the pulp, the segments 10 to 13, separating easily, medium sweet, slightly acid, the seeds about 10" (Walker, 1954; p. 140).

Habitat/ecology:  Widely cultivated.

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Southern Japan to South China; known in cultivation only, but perhaps wild in the interior of China" (Walker, 1954; p. 140).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tetiaroa Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M.-H./Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 64)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 125) Vouchers cited: Nothis 12 (NOU), MacKee 38195
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (pp. 344-345)

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

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

Taxonomic information about Citrus nobilis 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.

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

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

Sachet, M.-H./Fosberg, F. R. 1983. An ecological reconnaissance of Tetiaroa Atoll, Society Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 275. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 67 pp. + photos.

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

Walker, Egbert H. 1954. Important trees of the Ryukyu Islands. U.S. Civil Admin. of the Ryukyu Islands, Special Bulletin no. 3.