What is it? (no contest)

[tallyho8]

Can anyone tell me what kind of fruit this is growing on a tree at our place? First thought upon seeing the outside was maybe an osage orange, otherwise known as bodark, hedge apple, horse apple, etc., but when you cut it open it is completely different than osage.

They are a little larger than baseballs and when cut smell similar to oranges. They taste #%$* awful!

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

Kinda looks like a Ponderosa lemon maybe? Except they are a lot bigger than a baseball.

 

[allenr]

I reckon it's a lemon, perhaps a very old variety.

 

[scgargoyle]

Might be a sour orange, which is used for root stock on commercially grown citrus trees. I've had them sucker next to a tree, only to find out the fruit is inedible. It might have started out as a grafted tree, and the grafted part died, leaving the sour orange rootstock. Sour orange usually (but not always) has thorns.

 

[SnowRidge]

Sour lemon.

I win! Hey, why no prize?

 

[LBrown59]

How long have you had the tree there?

Can anyone tell me what kind of fruit this is growing on a tree at our place?

 

[LBrown59]

Sour lemon.

*I win! Hey, why no prize?

I think your prize was a lemon

 

[JC-jetro]

Dudley,

That is a Lemon. There is another type of grapefruit (rare) that is called "ugly fruit" that is more greenish and with a very thick skin. the variety that you have shown is more likely an Italian variety. There is another Italian variety like that called Citron that they make "candid peel or rind" from it and it's pretty good. Lastly there is other other variety that is grown in Turkey (called Bergamot" that you can make the most delicious Marmalade from and the oil of Bergamot is used for "Earl Grey" tea that is delicious, You'rs truly most favorite tea... indeed!!!

By the way , Happy Thanksgiving ya'll , My Tom is roasting in the oven as I write.

JC,

 

[tallyho8]

Might be a sour orange, which is used for root stock on commercially grown citrus trees. I've had them sucker next to a tree, only to find out the fruit is inedible. It might have started out as a grafted tree, and the grafted part died, leaving the sour orange rootstock. Sour orange usually (but not always) has thorns.

I think you hit the jackpot here. Here is the history of the tree. It was planted about 15 years ago as some kind of grafted citrus tree. The previous owner did not prune the rootstock and it overtopped the grafted part and an uneducated gardner pruned it by cutting off the grafted part instead of the rootstock. Yes, it has thorns. The fruit is definitely inedible. I googled sour orange and this does seem to match it perfectly. It always amazes how much info is stored in the minds of our many TBNers.

I was going to cut it down but it is a pretty tree and it's not hurting anything so I guess I will be raising sour oranges for years to come. There was a post on here a while back about citron melons and how people planted them to prevent thefts from their watermelon patches. Maybe this tree out in front will keep people from picking my real citrus.

You can pick up your prize of a dozen sour oranges anytime you are in the neighborhood.

 

[LBrown59]

I think you hit the jackpot here. Here is the history of the tree. It was planted about 15 years ago as some kind of grafted citrus tree. The previous owner did not prune the rootstock and it overtopped the grafted part and an uneducated gardner pruned it by cutting off the grafted part instead of the rootstock. Yes, it has thorns. The fruit is definitely inedible. I googled sour orange and this does seem to match it perfectly. It always amazes how much info is stored in the minds of our many TBNers.



*You can pick up your prize of a dozen sour oranges anytime you are in the neighborhood.

*Good one .
LOL

 

[rox]

You might use them for making hommade liquor. Lots of people in France make yheir own liquor. We know a family in Marseille that makes a very good liquor getting bitter oranges from her neighbor. She used to make it with sweet oranges but yhe bitter oranges are better as then the liquor is not as sweet but it still has the orange flavor.
At our home we have bottles of hommade liquor nade with cherries, thyme, mint, lemon and the bitter orange.

 

[Barton]

It sure looks like 'rough lemon' which is also used as root stock. I grew citrus root stock as an Ag project in HS but I used sour orange. I even made a little money on the deal but it didn't make me an expert.

 

[tallyho8]

It sure looks like 'rough lemon' which is also used as root stock. I grew citrus root stock as an Ag project in HS but I used sour orange. I even made a little money on the deal but it didn't make me an expert.

Though it resembles a rough lemon, I do not believe it is one because I have read that rough lemons are edible and this one is not.