It doesn't have the top knot of a Sumo citrus and from what I have heard from the Sumo growers on FB, they are not on the market yet. They won't be available for another 3 weeks. https://www.facebook.com/sumocitrus/

I’m not sure, but they do not look exactly like my dekopon....looks like maybe some type of satsuma??

And Merrry Christmas!!

Kvetch, those are not Sumos/Shiranui. They don't have the topknot and they're too small. I bought 5 Australian sumos in October and they weighed in at over 3 lbs. Cost more than 1.99/lb too :(

I've been buying the ones in your picture with the stem and leaves and they are delicious but haven't found any with seeds. You should give them a try anyway.

Merry Christmas to everyone and many thanks for all the wonderful advice and pictures offered.

Hi all,

I agree that they are not the shiranui variety. Do you guys know what they are?

I bought a few last week and they taste very good. Are these nules or ponkan? I really want to add this variety in my collection. The rind is very thick and easy to peel.

merry Christmas everyone!!

'I am not sure , but they could well be Dekopon. I have an in ground Dekopon tree and if the tree carries too many fruit, then the size of the fruit are smaller. As for the possibility that they might be Ponkan, if the fruit is seedless as stated above, then for sure they are not Ponkan. Ponkan has a good flavor but they are quite seedy.

I agree it looks like a Satsuma, if I had to guess a variety I would say Brown Select, the skin texture does not look right for Owari, but there are many other obscure varieties out there.

How exciting Laura! It looks humongous in comparison to your hand. I'm glad to hear your thoughts on the mystery fruit since you have one in front of you to physically compare it to!

Thanks Denise! I thought the top did look like a top knot or at least a semblance of one but I guess it's not quite defined enough to be the Sumo or Shiranui.

cf03 if they're as delicious as you say, I'll still consider them worth buying just this once! It's too bad you didn't find one with seeds :(

Me too Amy! I've considered adding the Ponkan to my citrus wishlist. As Silica says, I hear the Ponkan has a good flavor.

Thank you Silica! If there's even a slight possibility it is just a small Dekopon fruit then it may be worth it for me to get a bagful of these :)

Thanks for the alternative opinion Ike! I only have a Meyer right now so I didn't know the mystery fruit has similarities to satsumas. And from McKenzie Farm's description of Brown Select Satsuma, I had wanted to try that one so if anything it'll be good for me to eat one at the very least. And plant the seeds if there are any!

Laura now that's a beautiful fruit classic Shiranui . Kvetchlambkin Silica could very well be right my little Shiranui had many small fruit's on it when I purchased it and they looked almost identical to the fruit's above that are in question except the fruit from my tree were much more pale . The reason I'm leaning towards some type of Satsuma are the leaves they kind of have the same shape and look as my Satsuma's leaves. Hope Kvetchlambkin that you had a great Christmas and enjoy the New Year. Pic of my little Shiranui fruit

Brian, those look lovely! Are they very sweet? Mine is more orange but I’ve not tried it yet.

Hi Kvetch, how is your Meyer doing so far? My Meyer is just sitting there with half ripe lemons, not growing or flowering.

Brian, how did the Dekopon taste, did you keep them off the tree for a while to cure?

I was wondering the same thing. I have a one of these trees too. Just wondering if storing them for 20 days is really necessary.

Hi Denise & Sunshine those 2 fruit were very tiny nothing like Laura's but they were packed with sweetness and flavor , I can just imagine what they will taste like when they become the size of Laura's. I ate them straight off the tree so good.

Brian

Wow thank you for the close up photo of your Shiranui Brian! I passed by a different market on Thursday and saw the same mystery citrus from the photos I first posted. I think you and Ike are right about them being satsuma citrus. I had a chance to pick them up and look at them more closely and they were much smaller and flatter than the older photo. Very much like a tangerine, flat and oval like a tomato. We had a huge snowstorm that day on Thursday so I didn't buy them, it was too disastrous outside to carry anything other than my own self!

Hi sunshine! My Meyer would be elated to know you are interested in how she's doing lol. I've been sick on and off with a bad cough since Thanksgiving so I've put repotting her on hold until I feel better. She stopped flowering once 2-3 fruitlets grew a bit larger and stayed on the tree. I stopped watering mine completely for awhile though because of a bad fungus gnat larvae infestation. The long dry spell made her drop a few leaves and showing redistribution of Nitrogen in a couple leaves (yellowing middle vein). The fungus gnats have been eliminated from the dehydration and freezing temps so I've finally started giving her sips of water again. She started producing another round of flowers after receiving that small amount of water. No new growth though but I know the problem is the leftover nursery soil I didn't wash off. What kind environment is your Meyer in? It could be stuck in a limbo state of not enough light and not enough warmth which is probably okay as long as you're not getting leaf drop. If your lemons are half ripe, they must be pretty large. It needs to feed itself but also make enough food to keep growing the lemons properly so I'm guessing that the more developed the fruit is the more light it needs to keep going. Glad to hear that it's not shedding though!

Satsumas are typically picked and displayed with the stem and leaves like this. You can't just tug on a satsuma because the top part of the rind will break off with the stem and the fruit will spoil or dehydrate. Although, it's not really necessary to leave so much of the stem with the fruit. I suspect it's a sales ploy to some degree.

Wow I didn't know that! Thanks Dave! It does make them look like special citrus when they're the only citrus fruit sporting snippets of stems and leaves. I'm definitely picking some up next week to try! Would love to see what the flavor is like and if there are any seeds

I actually prefer Satsuma over Sumo, but that's probably a personal preference thing. Also Minneola Tangelo can appear a lot like Sumo. I think at their best the flavor of Minneola can rival Sumo, but they're not the same thing. (the flavor of Minneola takes a lot after it's parent Duncan, which is unparalleled in grapefruit flavor)

Satsumas, Sumos and Minneolas are all among my favorites, but so distinct from each other.

I'm happy to hear more good things about Minneola Tangelo's from you two. I bought some a couple of days ago and they were much more flavorful than the first time I tried it earlier his year. And I found 3 seeds! Spring can't come any sooner at this point. I'm already preparing for all the new seedlings and new growth

i think they're xie shan satsuma

That is very interesting Dave. I definitely found that when I plucked some of mine. It also happened with the Ponkan, but I guess that makes sense since they're related.

Ate all of mine!