1196

Citrus maxima (Burm.f.) Merr.

Synonym	:	Aurantium decumana (L.) Mill.
Family	:	Rutaceae
Local name	:	English-Pomelo Malayalam- Bablimoos
Flowering and fruiting period	:	April-November
Distribution	:	Native of south east Asia
Distribution in Kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Cultivated
Endemic/Exotic	:	Exotic
Key botanical characters:     Trees to 10 m high, young parts grey-pubescent; bark greyish-brown, lenticellate; branchlets angular. Leaves unifoliolate, alternate, estipulate; petiole 20-30 mm long, winged, wings obcordate; lamina 6.5-10 x 3-7 cm, ovate or elliptic, base cuneate, subcordate or round, apex obtuse or acute, margin subentire or crenate, glabrous above, softly pubescent beneath, coriaceous, glandular-punctate; lateral nerves 7-10 pairs, pinnate, prominent, intercostae reticulate. Flowers bisexual, creamy, solitary or in axillary clusters; calyx ca. 1 x 1.5 mm, pubescent, irregularly lobed; petals 5, ca. 25 x 13 mm, oblong-obovae, glandular; stamens up to 30; filaments irregularly polyadelphous at base, anthers oblong, apiculate; disc annular, greenish-white; ovary superior, glabrous, 10-14-celled; style cylindric; stigma capitate, glandular-sticky. Fruit a hesperidium, 15-20 cm across, oblate to pyriform, greenish or yellow, glandular; pulp vesicles pale green to pinkish, acidic or sweet; seeds large, wrinkled.