Bitter Orange, Trifoliate Orange

Description:

Cultivar of the trifoliate orange (also called Japanese bitter orange or hardy orange) that has the most distinctive contorted or twisted habit to the stems.

Habitat:

Wildlife habitat yard.

Notes:

The parent plant, trifoliate orange, was first introduced to the United States in the mid 1800s from Europe. It is native to China and Korea and was first seen in Japan by plant hunters in the late 1700s. The species name trifoliate comes from the leaf shape of having three oval leaflets, dark green in color at the end of each green, twisted stem. Unlike plants of the citrus genus, these hardy oranges are deciduous in nature, and the fruits have a fuzzy down on the outside of the skin, much like a peach. Early on this plant was used throughout the South to create impenetrable hedgerows – what a perfect plant for this job. Growing to almost 20 feet in height with a 10- to 12-foot spread this plant would make an impressive barrier. Others used it for the small orange-like fruits produced in quantity each fall. The name “bitter orange” is appropriate since the fruits lack the sweet taste of most citrus that we enjoy as snacks. The best way to eat this fruit is in a marmalade or jelly where you can add lots of sugar to augment the taste. Another attribute of this plant is the cold hardiness (-10 degree F) so it has been used by citrus growers as a rootstock in trying to improve the cold hardiness of tropical citrus trees. The cultivar “Flying Dragon” came to the U.S. in 1915 and has always been somewhat of an oddity. The twisted, contorted branches are very dramatic and the winter effect is the most appealing since you can really see the structure of the plant. “Flying Dragon” is a slower grower than the species and has a smaller footprint maturing at 6 feet by 6 feet in size. Again, this cultivar has been used as a rootstock to provide a dwarfing effect to citrus trees in the landscape.