Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science

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(1) The present paper aims to show how the phylogenic relationship of Citrus species, which is demonstrated by the color reaction of barks, agrees well to the schame of classification of Citrus, which was evolved by Prof. TANAKA.
(2) The bark samples of various kinds of Citrus and Citrus relatives were extracted in distilled water, and the extracts were tested with the following reagents: Modified alumen reagent, molybdic acid reagent, titanous trichloride and ferric chloride.
(3) Comparative studies on Citrus relatives and Citrus species have proved that the evolution of Citrus species is represented by the color reaction of barks to proceed such a wey as Orange→Pinkish Orange→Pink with modified almen test, Blue→Bluish Green→Green→Yellowish Green with molybdic acid test, Green→Gray→Lilac with titanous trichloride test and Yellowish Brown→Brown with ferric chloride test.
(4) From the evidence of the color reaction, the nature of evolution in the genus Citrus is quiet marked. This is proved by the fact that the reaction varies in wide range in the members of this genus, while, it is not the case in the Citrus relatives such as Clausena, Murraya, Microcitrus and Poncirus, in which color reaction is still astray in the primitive condition (Table I).
(5) Modified almen test has shown that, in most of the cases, Subgen. Archicitrus is clearly separable from Subgen. Metacitrus, and that, in the type of reaction, the species belonging to the former are, generally, more primitive than those belonging to the latter (Table I).
(6) By molybdic acid test two different groups are distinguished among the sections of Subgen. Archicitrus. One of the groups is consisting of Limonellus and Citrophorum, and the other includes Cepharocitrus and Aurantium. In the second group, Aurantium must be preceeded by Cepharocitrus in order. This fact was also indicated by molybdic acid test (Table II).
(7) Modified almen test applied to Subgen. Metacitrus has proved that, among this subgenus, Psudofortunella was the first section to appear and Osmocitrus was next to arise, while, Acrumen was the last to seggregate (Table II). Among the subsections of Acrumen, Microacrumen is concievable to be more primitive than Euacrumen according to the evidence presented by ferric chloride test (Table II).
(8) The comparison of the experimental data, between the hybrid plants and their parents, has suggested that color reaction is conditioned, to certain extent, by the genetic character of plant (Table III).

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