Heres some photos Tom wanted me to post.

Quote:

Hi, All interested Parties, For anyone's questions or comments I have attached digis of a Mystery Citrus growing in Lanark Village, FL (On the northern Gulf Coast, four miles due E. of Carrabelle and sixty miles SE of Tallahassee). The story is that more than twenty-five years ago a "Snowbird" lady found two sprouting citrus seeds at her back door. She put the seeds in a pot and left them for a year-round resident to care for during the summers. After three years, she despaired of ever seeing any fruit (correctly as it turned out). She gave the potted seedlings to the neighbor who planted them at his front door. The tree has three trunks. The first two have apparently grafted themselves and produce slightly naveled, sweet oranges. The third trunk bears an almost seedless white grapefruit very much like a "Marsh". All trunks are virtually thornless. The tree(s) are in an open location on the northside of the house but have withstood many cold spells over the years. As can be seen, the tree(s) have some pests and are suffering from the dry weather but they have reliably borne fruit for years. It appears that the two orange trunks are nucellar seedlings from a Navel Orange and the grapfruit seed was "fortuitous" and just happened to land at the same place. The fruit is of high enough quality that I plan to take some budwood from each trunk to bud to some trifoliate seedlings I have sitting around. Thanks to "Skeeter" and "Laaz" for helping me out with the digital photo transfer etc. Tom�s

Do we get $100 for guessing it right?

To Joe Real,

We used a "C" Note to adjust for inflation. It belonged to the Informant, who is probably grinding his way through West Texas somewhere. He is on his way to Colorado as I type this. If you see him, tell him that I said that he could give you the US$100 for correctly guessing the origins of the citrus tree(s) and/or writing some good stuff!

I am curious about the naval oranges-- are they seedless? I know that even seedless varieties often produce a seed, but that would make the tree even more rare. Are both the oranges the same? I wonder if the seed was polyembryonic.

Glad to see you got how to post the pictures figured out Tom.

Hi, Skeet.

Regarding the navel oranges, both trunks had apparently identical fruit. The pics I sent of fruit from both orange bearing trunks were not posted but, according to the Informant (a neighbor of the owner), the fruit has few seeds. I forget what the seed count would have to be for oranges to make them officially "Seedless".

I was given some of the grapefruit, before I knew that the "Mystery Tree" existed. It was flovorful, juicy and had few seeds, especially when compared to the Duncan/seedling I have in my yard in Leon County.

You can believe that I will get some budwood from those trees as soon as the bark starts getting slippery again!

I am, frankly, too old to fool around w/ planting seedlings for other than understock uses.

My solution to getting the pics on the site were to send them to Laaz! I am still working on it.

tomas

If that tree were in California, I would be begging for budwoods to try them out. But we are separated by such a large chasm in Federal laws....

Tom I posted the photos you sent. If you have more send them to me & I'll post them for you. How large are the oranges ? If you get any extra budwood, send some my way

Hey, Y'all,

I wish I could send you some budwood, Joe...what about seeds when the fruit comes in ? Don't know if they would be true or not...with the grapefruit there too.

As for the quality and size of the oranges, I have not seen them, but I am told that they are about the size of a Hamlin, and have thin skin like most Florida citrus. The grapfruit part of the tree bears fruit that compares w/ the size of commercial grade fruit.

As for the budwood, I really have only met the owner a couple of times. He lives in Lower Alabama and hasn't been down in awhile, but I don't think it would be any problem to share some wood.