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Recorded contributions to citrus breeding, introduction, and history.
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World of CitrusWorld of CitrusRecorded contributions to citrus breeding, introduction, and history.
38 credits across 21 varieties · Walter T. Swingle
Webber's account, reissued in 1909, explicitly attributes pollination of the hybrid fruit that produced Morton No. 771 to Walter T. Swingle at G. H. Norton's grove in Eustis. The 1962 retrospective places the series in 1897.
Webber's account, reissued by USDA in 1909, describes Morton (No. 771) as a seedling from the same hybrid fruit as Willits (No. 777). It attributes pollination of the trifoliate-orange seed parent with sweet-orange pollen to Walter T. Swingle at G. H. Norton's grove in Eustis. Cooper, Reece, and Furr (1962) place Morton in the 1897 series and identify Ruby sweet orange as the pollen cultivar. These are attributed historical accounts.
Eustis, Florida, United States
UCR’s historical account credits W. T. Swingle with creating the Rusk hybrid in 1897. Webber and Swingle’s account describes one of three seedlings from a single hybrid fruit produced that year in Col. G. H. Norton’s grove at Eustis, Florida; they identify common orange as the female parent and trifoliate orange as the pollen parent.
Florida, United States
The Sampson tangelo originated in a 1897 Florida cross between ordinary grapefruit and Dancy tangerine. USDA Circular 181 describes Dancy as the pollen parent; UCR records the year and Florida origin.
Florida, United States
The 1909 account attributes pollination of the original Poncirus × sweet-orange fruit from which the Morton and Willits seedlings came to Walter T. Swingle at Eustis.
The 1909 account reports that Morton hybrid No. 771 developed from another seed of the same hybrid fruit as Willits No. 777 and says Walter T. Swingle pollinated that original Trifoliate orange × sweet-orange fruit at Eustis. Cooper, Reece, and Furr (1962) place Willits among eleven named citranges in an 1897 series. These retrospective reports support the shared-fruit pollination account; they do not establish accession-level molecular parentage.
Eustis, Florida, United States
USDA Circular 181 places Thornton's C.P.B. 1282 fruit in Swingle's 1899 hybrid series. The original hybrid records were lost, and the pollen parent was not definitely known.
USDA Circular 181 places fruit identified as C.P.B. 1282 at several Florida stations in Walter T. Swingle’s 1899 hybrid series. The original hybrid records were lost; grapefruit was the known seed parent, while the pollen parent was not definitely known. The authors infer tangerine character from sister hybrids, not a specific pollen parent.
Florida, United States
Sources: [5]
Sampson was named and described by Webber and Swingle in 1904, according to UCR’s account of the cultivar history.
United States
Sources: [1]
Co-described and released Rusk with Herbert J. Webber.
Hodgson’s historical account reproduced by UCR states that Rusk was described and released in 1905 by Webber and Swingle. The USDA Yearbook account of the 1897 hybrid was published in 1905.
United States
Conducted the early citrus breeding work from which the nucellar Trimble seedling was obtained.
In the chapter published in 1905 in the Yearbook for 1904, Webber and Swingle describe Trimble among tangerines from early breeding work, reporting a Dancy × Parson Brown cross made in W. K. Trimble’s Braidentown grove. They caution that adventive-embryo origin could not be ruled out. UCR’s 1967 retrospective says Trimble is now regarded as a nucellar seedling of Dancy; the cross date itself is not established.
Walter T. Swingle produced the grapefruit x Poncirus hybrid later known as Swingle citrumelo.
United States
Led the USDA tangelo breeding program that produced Seminole.
Seminole was produced in the USDA citrus-crossing program’s 1908–1912 series, conducted principally at Eustis and Glen St. Mary, Florida. Circular 181 identifies the cross as Bowen grapefruit × Dancy tangerine and gives the breeding designation CPB 52018-F-23; it does not date Seminole’s individual cross more precisely.
Florida, United States
Sources: [2]
Developed and maintained the nucellar Owari line that became Silverhill satsuma.
UCR reports Silverhill as a nucellar seedling selection of Owari from a cross made by W. T. Swingle in Florida around 1908, maintained as CPB No. 7272. The sources do not establish the other parent or resolve the reported identity comparison with Frost Owari.
Florida, United States
Directed the USDA breeding work under which E. M. Savage produced the original hybrid.
Washington navel orange was crossed with trifoliate orange in 1909 by E. M. Savage under W. T. Swingle’s direction at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Hodgson (1967) reports that Savage and Gardner’s later study identified the resulting zygotic seedling CPB 4-5019 as the same clone known as Carrizo and Troyer.
United States
Sources: [17]
Made the Calamondin × Willits citrange hybridization from which Glen Citrangedin originated.
Glen Citrangedin originated from a hybridization made by Walter T. Swingle in spring 1909 at Glen St. Mary, Florida, with Calamondin as the seed parent and Willits citrange as the pollen parent.
Glen St. Mary, Florida, United States
Sources: [4]
Made the 1909 West Indian lime × round kumquat hybridization from which Lakeland limequat originated.
Swingle and Robinson report that the limequat cross series was made at Eustis in June 1909 in F. W. Savage’s citrus grove. Their article identifies Lakeland and Eustis as sister hybrids of Mexican/West Indian lime and round kumquat; the exact cross date for the named Lakeland clone is not separately stated.
Eustis, Florida, United States
Sources: [5]
Walter T. Swingle crossed Mexican lime as the seed parent with Genoa lemon pollen, producing the hybrid later named Perrine lemon.
United States
Made the 1909 oval kumquat × Willits citrange hybridization that produced Thomasville.
Walter T. Swingle made the Thomasville cross at Eustis, Florida, in 1909, using oval kumquat as seed parent and Willits citrange as pollen parent.
Eustis, Florida, United States
Directed the USDA breeding work under which E. M. Savage made the Troyer cross.
Troyer citrange originated from a Washington navel sweet orange × Poncirus trifoliata hybridization made by E. M. Savage under the direction of Walter T. Swingle at Riverside in 1909.
Riverside, California, United States
Sources: [1]
The 1923 account identifies Swingle, its senior author, with the 1909 lime–kumquat breeding work; it places the crossing series in F. W. Savage’s Eustis grove.
Swingle and Robinson report that a series of lime–kumquat crosses was made in June 1909 in F. W. Savage's grove at Eustis, Florida. CPB 48798 is described as West Indian lime fertilized with pollen from round kumquat.
Eustis, Florida, United States
The Tavares selection arose from the limequat cross series made in June 1909 in Frank W. Savage’s citrus grove at Eustis, Florida. The 1923 article later identifies CPB 48792 as Tavares.
Eustis, Florida, United States
Sources: [3]
Created Clement Tangelo by crossing Duncan grapefruit with Clementine mandarin in Florida in 1914.
Walter T. Swingle produced Clement Tangelo through the United States Department of Agriculture by crossing Duncan grapefruit with Clementine mandarin.
Florida, United States
Sources: [3]
Introduced the Japanese Flying Dragon form of trifoliate orange into the United States in 1915.
The Citrus Industry (1967), quoted by UCR, credits Walter T. Swingle with introducing the Japanese Hiryo, or Flying Dragon, variety to the United States in 1915.
United States
Evaluated and retained the fruiting hybrid as a distinct limequat cultivar.
CPB 48798, the limequat selection described by Swingle and Robinson, fruited in the USDA greenhouse in Washington, D.C., during summer 1918. The authors do not identify this as the first limequat fruiting.
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Sources: [5]
Swingle and Robinson’s 1923 article describes Eustis limequat, proposes its name, and presents the authors’ home-garden assessment. This credit refers to introduction in print, not proof of a separate nursery release or sole introduction.
Swingle and Robinson published a detailed description of the Eustis limequat and proposed its name in the same article. They presented it as a promising hardy, lime-like fruit for home gardens; this is the authors' assessment, not a modern trial result.
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Swingle coauthored the 1923 report in which the authors proposed ‘Eustis limequat’ because the original cross was made at Eustis. This credit denotes participation in the published naming proposal; it does not establish a separate 1913 naming date or sole coining.
In their 1923 article, Swingle and Robinson proposed the name “Eustis limequat” because the original cross had been made at Eustis, Florida. The source supports a 1923 naming proposal, not the former 1913 date.
Eustis, Florida, United States
Named and described the Lakeland limequat selection.
The 1923 article publicly identifies and describes the Lakeland limequat and associates its name with doing particularly well in H. J. Drane’s Lakeland garden. This dates the checked published naming/description evidence, not necessarily the first use or nursery release of the name; Florida Fruit Geek later reports the three limequat varieties were released in 1913.
Lakeland, Florida, United States
Walter T. Swingle coauthored the 1923 article that names CPB 48792 the Tavares limequat. This credit records participation in that published naming account; it does not establish that Swingle alone coined the name or released the cultivar.
The 1923 article names selection CPB 48792 the Tavares limequat, for the town adjoining Eustis; it places Frank W. Savage’s grove between the two towns. This records the documented 1923 naming account, not a claim that no earlier usage existed.
Tavares, Florida, United States
Co-described and named Thomasville citrangequat in 1923.
Thomasville citrangequat was first fruited at Thomasville, Georgia, and was named and described in 1923 (Swingle and Robinson, 1923, p. 230).
Sources: [1]
Provided the Thomasville cutting received by Riverside in 1924.
The Riverside citrus collection received Thomasville as a cutting from W. T. Swingle of the USDA in 1924. The accession is CRC 1440 / PI 539849.
Riverside, California, United States
Sources: [1]
Provided the citrange budwood received by Riverside in 1924.
The Riverside citrus collection received budwood of the unnamed citrange selection later called Troyer from Walter T. Swingle of the USDA in 1924. The accession became CRC 1459 / PI 539810 / VI 86.
Riverside, California, United States
Sources: [1]
Supplied the Citremon cuttings received by the University of California citrus collection in June 1924.
UCR accession records identify Citremon CRC 1448 (cutting A) and CRC 1449 (cutting B) as cuttings received from W.T. Swingle, USDA, in June 1924.
Riverside, California, United States
Provided Morton budwood to the Riverside collection in June 1924.
The Riverside citrus collection received Morton as budwood from Walter T. Swingle of the USDA in June 1924. This accession became CRC 1463 / PI 539811.
Riverside, California, United States
Sources: [1]
Proposed the name Silverhill Satsuma after the line's cold-hardiness trials at Silverhill, Alabama.
In his article dated January 3, 1931, Walter T. Swingle proposed the name “Silverhill Satsuma” for CPB No. 7272, whose hardiness had come to light at Silverhill, Alabama.
Silverhill, Alabama, United States
Proposed the name Glen Citrangedin for the hybrid originating at Glen St. Mary, Florida.
USDA Circular No. 181, New Citrus Hybrids, described Glen Citrangedin and proposed the name in reference to Glen St. Mary, Florida, where the hybrid originated and had fruited successfully.
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Sources: [4]
Assigned the name ‘Troyer’ to the CPB 4-5019 citrange clone in 1934.
W. T. Swingle assigned the name ‘Troyer’ to the CPB 4-5019 citrange clone in 1934, as reported by Hodgson (1967).
Sources: [17]
Named the selection Troyer in 1934.
Walter T. Swingle named the citrange Troyer in 1934 for A. M. Troyer of Fairhope, Alabama, on whose property the selection had first fruited.
Riverside, California, United States
Sources: [1]
Collected seed associated with the 1945 USDA accession record from the Winterhaven experiment station in Texas.
UCR records inactive PI 150921 as entered in 1945 from seeds collected at the Winterhaven Experiment Station, Texas. This event records that accession entry; the deeper origin of Sacaton remains uncertain.
Texas, United States
Sources: [1]
Hodgson attributes the reported 1923 shipment of 200 unnamed seedlings to Walter T. Swingle; Cooper’s letter separately reports Mortensen’s recollection of a 1930 seed shipment. This credit records the attributed transfer accounts.
Two historical accounts describe transfers of Carrizo material differently. Hodgson’s 1967 account reports that 200 seedlings of the then-unnamed clone were sent to Winter Haven Substation No. 19 near Carrizo Springs in 1923. UCR reproduces a July 1959 letter by W. C. Cooper quoting E. Mortensen’s recollection of about 200 seeds sent to Mortensen in 1930 as CPB 450198-B. These accounts differ in year, propagule form, and code; the available records do not establish whether they describe the same transfer.
Co-described Willits in the early USDA citrange literature.
The 1904 Yearbook account says the writers proposed the name Willits, subject to the Secretary’s approval, and reports that Gardner had called the selection “Swingle” in the July 1904 Cosmopolitan Magazine. This records the naming account and an earlier competing name; it does not establish the date of formal adoption.
Sources: [1]