Osceola Mandarin

Osceola was selected from a 327-seedling Clementine (female) × Orlando tangelo population reported by Reece and Gardner.^⁠[1]

Reece and Gardner described Osceola as a medium, oblate fruit with a smooth, glossy rind ranging from deep orange to almost coral-red. The thin, leathery rind was fairly easy to remove but not loose or baggy; the fruit had 10–11 segments, dark-orange pulp, and 15–25 seeds. They reported November as its best season.^⁠[1]

Reece and Gardner described Osceola as virtually thornless, with twigs more upright than Clementine and dense foliage. They reported that rootstock trials were limited and that little was known about cold tolerance or disease and insect susceptibility. Preliminary tests suggested that rough lemon rootstock lowered fruit quality, while young Osceola on Cleopatra appeared shy-bearing. Because both parents were unfruitful when self-pollinated, the authors cautioned that their offspring might share this trait; this was a prediction, not a demonstrated result for every Osceola tree.^⁠[1]

UF/IFAS states Osceola was officially released in 1959 and recommends cross-pollination for maximum fruit set and size, naming Temple and Orlando as pollenizers. It also says Osceola is not a good pollen source for other hybrids except Orlando; these are qualitative extension recommendations, not quantified compatibility results.^⁠[2]

A 2017 study of Osceola fruit collected at Ramsar, Iran, in the last week of January 2014 reported 8 °Bx, pH 3.64 and titratable acidity of 0.68% as citric acid. The scions were on sour-orange rootstock, and juice testing used three replicates of 10 fruit. These measurements describe that trial’s samples.^⁠[4]