ここ数日よく雨が降りました。昨夜は強風もあったので、今朝の散歩で外に出るとオレンジが1個落ちていました。大実柚子苗に高接ぎしてあるセミノールとモロの根元です。
We had several days' rainy weather up until last night, with winds getting stronger. When I stepped out of the porch this morning for Taiga's morning walk, I saw an orange among the grass. It was at the foot of a small Yuzu tree on which Seminole and Moro branches are grafted and growing well.
果皮のようすから判断して、セミノール。
Judging by the outer skin, it looks like a Seminole.
たぶんこの枝のあたりから落果。セミノールの果皮は濃い朱色でツヤがあります。ただし、うちのはヘソが着きません。昔ググったネット情報によると、ヘソなしの個体もあるそうで。個人的にはこのスムーズな形のほうが気に入っています。
It probably fell off this branch. The skin of Seminole is a deep orange colour, and it has a shine as if just polished. However, my Seminole does not get a belly button. According to the information I saw a few years ago, some Seminole oranges come without belly buttons. I personally prefer mine which are smooth and almost spherical.
こちらは同じ木に接いであるモロ。ここまで色づくと果皮は甘い花のような香りがします。
These are Moro fruits of branches grafted on the same Yuzu tree. When the skin becomes this red, it gives off a sweet, flower-like scent.
こちらはモロの親木。モロもセミノールも２月頃から収穫しています。地元スーパーや池袋のデパ地下の輸入果物コーナーには４月頃に並ぶようです。単価は高いのに小粒で貧相。
This is the original Moro tree, standing nearby. I start harvesting both Moro and Seminole in February. I see imported Moro and Seminole in our local supermarkets and the fruit shelves in department stores in Ikebukuro. They are priced high, and, yet the fruits are small and not looking fresh.
半割りにしてみると、種が入っている。１本の小さな木にモロと一緒に接がれているので、開花期が重なると種が入ってしまいます。
恒例の糖度計。実の軸が着いていた半分は14.8%。
I cut the fruit into halves to find it had several seeds. This is not surprising, since Seminole and Moro are grafted on the small Yuzu tree and, if their flowering coincides, there will be cross-pollination resulting in seeds.
According to the Brix meter, the sugar content was 14.8%, with the top half closest to the branch.
果頂部は16.9%でした。先日のサンシュユが40%台で、糖度計が壊れているのかと怪しみましたが、今日の数値を見て安心しました。ただし、実際に実を食べてみると、サンシュユよりもこのセミノールのほうが比較にならないほど甘くて美味しかったです。
The other half showed 16.9%. When I saw the sugar content exceeding 40% with the Japanese cornel the other day, I thought that the gadget was broken. Today, seeing these figures, I am assured that it is working. However, when I actually tasted the orange, this was far sweeter and more delicious than the cornel fruit.
