The citrus mystery....an explanation?

As I stated in a previous post, one of the things that confuses me here in Arizona is how people refer to Citrus trees. I'm not sure if they are talking about all different kinds of trees collectively, or if there is one kind of tree that is called a citrus. Okay, okay so I know it sounds dumb and citrus probably is just a general term for lemon, orange, grapefruit trees and so forth....but the way people have mentioned Citrus it just sounded confusing. Anyway, a few weeks ago my neighbor pruned some branches off of one said mysterious citrus trees and on the branches were some fruit. So I decided to take a closer look.

If you look at this picture you can see the large fruit hanging on the tree (why don't they pick it off?!?!? Arghhh!) And the pruned branches on the ground. The citrus on them looks very pale yellow and large.

Here is the fruit and branches lying on the ground. I go in for the kill and take one!

These are the citrus blossoms. In the early spring they are VERY sweet and fragrant and the smell wafts through the air.


Once inside the house, I open it up with a knife! Lo and behold it is yellow inside and the texture is very soft and cuts easily. Carefully I tasted it and.....it's a grapefruit! A "real" one, I suppose. Not that the ones at the grocery store aren't real, but this one is fresh off the tree and maybe that is why it looks so funny to me. It is not a commercial grapefruit. It tastes very good, but I'm kind of afraid to eat it. How long was it on the tree for? And is it safe?

(by the way, those are not my muffins, lol!)


SOOOOooooo....

Mystery citrus tree number one is solved. I'ven noticed that on craigslist here, people give their grapefruits away for free! Yes, bags of them for free. I guess people just get tired of them and refuse to eat or even pick them any longer. And who am I to talk? I've had two grapefruits from the store sitting in the fridge now for weeks!