Poncirus trifoliata

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Poncirus trifoliata
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Mesic
Hardiness:5
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Self Pollinated
Height:10'
Width:10'
Speed:Slow
Blooms:Mid Spring-Late Spring
Open Woods Forest
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Poncirus trifoliata (common name: bitter orange)

Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1]. Cold stratify stored seed for 4 weeks and sow early spring in a greenhouse[2]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.

Cuttings of half-ripe wood, June/July in a frame[3].

Cultivation: An easily grown plant, it succeeds in an ordinary garden soil[3], preferably well-drained[4], but prefers a fertile light sandy soil in a sunny position[5][1]. A plant is growing and fruiting well in light woodland shade at Cambridge Botanical Gardens[K]. Plants dislike soil cultivation close to their roots and so should either be well mulched to prevent weed growth, or hand weeded[6]. Succeeds in poor acid soils[7]. Plants also succeed in chalk-laden soils[8].

Hardy to about -15°c[9]. Plants have survived -30°c of frost without injury according to one report[5].

The bitter orange hybridizes with Citrus species and could possibly be used in breeding programmes to produce hardier forms of oranges, lemons etc[10][11]. It could also be of value in conferring disease resistance, tolerance of poorer soils and dwarfing characteristics.

The flowers are produced on the previous years wood[1]. The whole plant, but especially the flowers[6], is strongly aromatic[4].

A very ornamental plant[3][5], the fruits are freely formed in south-western Britain[5][12]. A hedge at Wisley in a semi-shaded position fruits heavily in most years[K]. Another report says that warm autumns are required if the plant is to fruit freely. Fertile seed is produced after warm summers[4].

Plants are relatively short-lived, deteriorating after about 25 years[6].

Range: E. Asia - C. and S. China, Korea.

Habitat: Hedgerows[13]. Woods in mountains and hills in Korea[14].

Edibility: Fruit - cooked. A bitter and acrid flavour, but it can be used to make a marmalade[15][5][16]. The fruit is also used to make a refreshing drink[10][17]. The freshly picked fruit yields little juice but if stored for 2 weeks it will yield about 20% juice[17], which is rich in vitamin C. Yields of up to 14 kilos of fruit per plant have been achieved in America[11]. The fruit is 2 - 3cm wide[18], though most of this is the skin[K].

The fruit peel can be used as a flavouring[17].

Young leaves - cooked[17].

Medicinal: The thorns are used in the treatment of toothache[19].

The stem bark is used in the treatment of colds[19].

The fruits contain a number of medically active constituents including flavonoids, coumarins, monoterpenes and alkaloids[14].

The fruit, with the endocarp and seeds removed, is carminative, deobstruent and expectorant[20]. It is used in the treatment of dyspepsia, constipation and abdominal distension, stuffy sensation in the chest, prolapse of the uterus, rectum and stomach[20]. It is milder in effect than the immature fruit and is better used for removing stagnancy of food and vital energy in the spleen and stomach[20].

The unripe fruit is antidiarrheic, antiemetic, antispasmodic, deobstruent, digestive, diuretic, laxative, stimulant, stomachic and vasoconstrictor[21][20][22][19]. It is used in the treatment of dyspepsia, constipation and abdominal distension, stuffy sensation in the chest, prolapse of the uterus, rectum and stomach, shock[20].

Usage: Used as a rootstock for Citrus species (oranges, lemons etc)[16][11]. It confers an extra 3°c resistance to the cold[11].

The plant is very thorny and makes an excellent impenetrable barrier or hedge[15][5][23], though this barrier is not very dense[K]. The plants are very tolerant of pruning[4], they are best clipped in early summer shortly after flowering[1][8].

Pollinators: Insects

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Late Fall

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Also Known As: Aegle sepiaria. Citrus trifoliata. Limonia trifoliata.

Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  2. ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Davis, Brian. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking, 1990.
  7. ↑ Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
  9. ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Natural Food Institute. Wonder Crops 1987.
  12. ↑ Thurston, Edgar. Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall. Cambridge University Press, 1930.
  13. ↑ Wilson, Ernest and Charles Sargent. Plantae Wilsonianae.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Medicinal Plants in the Republic of Korea. World Health Organisation, 1998.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
  18. ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 Yeung, Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, 1985.
  21. ↑ Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press.
  22. ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
  23. ↑ Shepherd, F. W.. Hedges and Screens. Royal Horticultural Society, 1974.


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