Australian finger lime

CRC 1484
PI 539734

Source

Received as budwood from Dr. Joe Furr, USDCS, Indio, CA (from Yuma, Ariz.), 1968. 
 

Parentage/origins

Parent unknown

Rootstocks of accession

Cleopatra mandarin 

 
Season of ripeness at Riverside

Year round; peak fruit production is November to December 

Season of flowering at Riverside

February to April 
 

Notes and observations

Original seed collected by W.V. Mangomery, Maryborough, N.S.W., Australia. Purple fruit strain. From North Arin, Murwillunbah, N.S.W. Seed to Furr in 1965. 

EMN, 12/22/1987: Nice looking trees so far, little dieback yet. Had light crop, now on ground.--EMN. TCI, Vol. I, pp 353, lists M. australasica var. Sanguinea as the Red-pulp finger-lime and says it varies from pink to red in color. This accession exhibits no pink or red color at all. Pulp is virtually white as it is in all our finger limes in the CRC Nos. 3661 to 3672 group. We probably don't have true M. australasica var. Sanguinea. This accession probably is M. australasica, purple fruit strain- fruit is relatively large for M Australasica and has dark purplish-green rind color. CRC 3661 came in as purple fruit strain but doesn't seem to be- see that card.

Description from The Citrus Industry Vol. 1 (1967)

"This variety differs from the species in that the pulp-vesicles at maturity vary from pink to red in color.

There are similar "pink" or red varieties of oranges (the so-called "blood oranges") and grapefruit, some of which are known to have arisen as budsports.   However, the red-pulped variety of the Australian finger-lime is found growing wild and can be propagated from seed; it seems to have originated without the aid of man."
 

Availability

Not commercially available in California.
 

USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network page for Microcitrus australasica (CRC 1484)