What is is? (from Photography Forum)

Someone suggested I post this here to see if I could get an ID. This bush was found in Centenniel Park in Nashville, TN. There are all sorts of strange trees there that are planted, and a tree tour. This is a bush, but I assume someone planted it there. It looks ominous!

... but very "famous" plant among rare fruit enthusiasts and bonsai growers.


It is Poncirus trifoliata 'Flying Dragon' -- more commonly known as Japanese Bitter Orange or Trifoliate Orange. The 'Flying Dragon' cultivar is famous for its twisted growth.

It is the most cold hardy citrus. It grows about as far north as Boston and the Ohio River valley. The 'Flying Dragon' cultivare is a little more cold-sensitive than the species.

Bonsai growers love its form. The thorns are very vicious. The regular species is often used as hedge material to keep livestock contained because of the thorns -- it is essentially living barbed wire.

The tree has white, fragrant spring flowers, the foliage is deciduous and turns yellow in the autumn.

The little oranges have a bitter white pith inside the skins, and are seedy, but you can use the juice like lemon or lime juice in cooking. Someone sent me a box of them from Alabama once, and I made a pretty decent marmelaide with them, but I did take the extra step of boiling the peels separately and then scraping the white bitter pith off before chopping the peels.

This is a plant I've always wanted to grow here in Michigan but isn't hardy enough. I have a six footer of the species type in a pot that is almost 10 years old -- had its first blooms last spring, but no fruit set. Maybe next year.

Propagation is from either seeds or cuttings, which root extremely easily in soil with rooting hormone.