Sankitsu, Shantou, Suangju, Sunekat (sec. Cottin 2002)
Citrus reticulata Blanco (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967, Mabberley 1997, 2004); Citrus sunki (Hayata) hort. ex Tanaka (sec. Hodgson 1967; sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)
Crown compact or dense, not weeping. First-year twig surface glabrous; second- or third-year twig surface striate; thorns absent or not persistent; prickles absent or not persistent. Petiole glabrous, length short; wings absent, if present, narrow, adjoining the blade. Leaflets one, margin entire (by misinterpretation), crenate/crenulate or bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly or strongly conduplicate. Scent of crushed leaflets mandarin-like. Fruit broader than long; rind yellow (7-10), yellow-orange (11), or orange (12); rind texture slightly rough (4-5) or medium rough (6-7); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh orange; taste sour.
Hodgson (1967) provided the following additional notes on the species:
"The sunki, suenkat or sunkat of South China, which is the sour mandarin (C. reticulate, var. austere) of Swingle's classification ([1967]), is a medium-small, upright tree with distinctive pale-green leaves. The fruit is medium-small, oblate and markedly depressed at both ends, and with basal furrows. The ring [sic] is very thin, loose, and light yellowish-orange, with a smooth, shiny surface and prominent oil glands. The rind is strong and spicy with a distinctive aroma. The flavor is acid, the fruit never becoming edible. Seeds are medium-large, plump, polyembryonic, and have pale-green cotyledons.
C. sunki is considered to be native to China and is said to be a widely employed rootstock in China and Taiwan."
Cottin, R. 2002. Citrus of the World: A citrus directory. Version 2.0. France: SRA INRA-CIRAD.
Hodgson, R.W. 1967. Horticultural varieties of Citrus. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry, rev. University of California Press. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter4.html.
Mabberley, D.J. 1997. A classification for edible Citrus (Rutaceae). Telopea 7: 167–172.
Mabberley, D.J. 2004. Citrus (Rutaceae): A review of recent advances in etymology, systematics and medical applications. Blumea 49: 481–498.
Swingle, W.T. and P.C. Reece. 1967. The botany of Citrus and its wild relatives. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry. Ed. 2. Vol. I. University of California, Riverside. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html.
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Citrus ID Edition 2
October, 2011
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