This came up between two of my Washington Navals................It is about 1 & 3/4 inches tall and the diameter is 1 & 1/2 inches. Bright orange color and smells like a quat. It is pear shaped. It taste like a Meiwa but looks like a Nagami but............its bigger than either and it is sweet ...much like the Meiws...............I have both Meiwa and Nagami in the same stand of trees amongst Washington navals and Brown Select and Owari Satsumas. I have one Ponkin Mandrin in there too. The tree is about 5 feet tall and has leaves that look like a quat. Tree is now 4 years old. Is loaded with these. What is this? David

From the exterior appearance my first guess would be Nippon Orangequat. If my guess is correct, it would be a rich orange inside and pretty tart, becoming sweeter the longer it stays on the tree.. The peel of Nippon is edible. When ripe the fruit is fairly soft if squeezed as opposed to firm like a Hamlin orange.

Thanks for the reply Ned. I thought at one time this might be a Nippon Orangequat. But...............last year it only had 2 fruits on it and I waited for them to get so ripe that they would fall into my hand when I picked them...they were sweet fruts...peel and pulp...was more like a Meiwa. Since I ony had two fruit my taste test led me to think that I have something other than a NOQuat. My experience with the NOQuat is that the peel is sweet and the inside is pretty sour.....not as sour as a Nagoimi but sour none the less. Also are not most of the NOQuats more rount than pear shaped? I have been eating some of this fruit this year as the tree is full...it is sweet. Even the inside is not sour...its palatable and if I had to compare it I would say that it is not near the acidity of a Nagomi Kumquat. When I cut it open it is bright ornage inside...much the color of a good navel. This fruit would make fine jam, juice or just to eat out of hand. If is is a NOQuat I am at a loss to know how it got there and the why of it...........I have never had a NOQ on the property and I felt that this came from seed. Dont know how a see from a NOQuat would have gotten between my two Naval Oranges....dont know that NOQuat would come from seed to resemble a NOQuat. This fruit had 7 or 8 seeds in each one when opened.......David

That is what it looks like to me. They are sweet but more juicy than meiwa. Is the rind thick?

David,

I happen to have one in the house and took this picture. It is a blury, because the light isn't all that bright, but you can get an idea of the color. This one was tart, but sweet. More tart than a naval or regular orange, but not as tart as a kumquat. Like Mr. Texas says, they juicy. The skin is tender.

They can be pear shaped or round. Seed can vary. The one pictured here only has one seed, but sometimes they have more. They can come true from seed and do ok on their own roots.

Couldn't it be that you made your own orangequat?
You have kumquat and oranges... a fertilized orange could have rotten under the tree.
Sylvain.

I guess that if I have to come up with an explanation that would be it. I think that it is a Nippon Orang Quat as Ned has proffered. How is got ther is ...............somewhat as you speak.....by its own design I assure you. I have never had Nippon Orange Quat and I guess that Mother Nature decided to make me one...............It is a good tasting fruit and I am going to propagate some of it. I will bud some this spring and plant some seed from it in December. I guess it will be my new experiment. This is my only explanation for its existence..........Im sure no one came into my trees and planted a Nippon Orange Quat between my Nav Oranges. David

David, plants have a way of showing up in unexpected places. It is possible that this is some sort of hybrid other than Nippon. In any event, it is certainly worth hanging on to.

Sylvain, Nippon is actually supposed to be cross between a kumquat and Satsuma mandarin. I think the kumquat was suppose to be Mewia, but to me the shape of some of the fruit might indicate otherwise. Don't quote me, but I believe I have read that the "Orangequat" came about because in most other countries a Satsuma is simply called an orange.

Yes you are right Ned. Just what the story behind the appearance of it I will never know probably but as you say it is a good fruit and worth hangin on to. I am going to graft some and plant some of the seed to see what happens. That is part of the fun of all this.............Thanks for the replys...I enjoy the forum and have met some very nice and knowledgable folks here. It is my place to go ...............David

It sure looks like my nippon quats, although mine have not yet got any color to them, other than green.

Here are the fruits:

You can tell the Kumquat parentage in Mr. Texas photo, by looking at the green color of the seeds. - Millet