OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Citrus trifoliata   FAMILY Rutaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Poncirus trifoliata   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-03-001:

Poncirus trifoliata   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Poncirus trifoliata

 

COMMON NAME:
Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm100331_010

March    Greenville County    SC

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm100402_132

April    Greenville County    SC

Showy clusters of flowers on previous year's branches, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm100402_135

April    Greenville County    SC

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm100402_138

April    Greenville County    SC

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm100402_141

April    Greenville County    SC

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm100402_144

April    Greenville County    SC

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_1539099

April?        

Flowers 1.5-2" across, w projecting stamens enclosing a yellow hairy stigma, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

Ron Lance    rwl1136_a

September        

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm071025_009

October    Pickens County    SC

Clemson Forest

Seems to be made up almost entirely of "thorns" (actually, stipular spines), per Weakley's Flora.

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm071025_013

October    Pickens County    SC

Clemson Forest

Long pointed thorns (1-5 cm) and green branches, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm091003_071

October    Greenville County    SC

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm091003_081

October    Greenville County    SC

Recognize it by its thorned branches, winged petioles, and 3 leaflets, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

JK Marlow    jkm091004_028

October    Greenville County    SC

Fruit = hesperidium (fleshy berrylike fruit w tough rind, like lemon or orange).

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_1539100

Month Unknown        

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_5379609

Month Unknown        

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

Steve Manning, Invasive Plant Control, Bugwood.org    bug_5379618

Month Unknown        

Branches dark gray w lengthwise lighter stripes & intervening green stripes, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Citrus trifoliata, Trifoliate Orange, Hardy Orange

James Johnson, Georgia Forestry Commission, Bugwood.org    bug_5407098

Month Unknown        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Citrus trifoliata   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Poncirus trifoliata   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-03-001:
Poncirus trifoliata   FAMILY Rutaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Poncirus trifoliata

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1136

Shrub; Tree
Perennial

Habitat: Bottomland and riparian forests, mesic upland forests, stream banks, spring runs, fencerows, roadsides, becoming common especially in suburban areas, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: China

Uncommon (rare in GA & NC Mountains) (rare in Carolina Coastal Plain)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Armed with stout nodal thorns

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Palmately compound: 3 leaflets
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring
White
Radially symmetrical
4-7 sepals
5 petals

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Yellow
Berry (hesperidium)

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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