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World of CitrusWorld of CitrusSinton Citrangequat
Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection at UCR
People & organizations: UCR
https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc3642 (opens in a new tab)
UCR identifies CRC 3642 / PI 539853 and lists parentage/origins as Nagami × Rusk followed by “Open pollinated seedling”; it does not explain the qualifier. The accession-specific history says budwood was received from Dr. Joe Furr at the United States Date & Citrus Station in Indio in 1968, and that seeds had been sent from Weslaco to Furr. UCR reproduces Hodgson’s 1967 account, which says the fruit is small, round to oval and often necked, deep reddish orange, sharply acid and nearly seedless; it reports that Sinton first fruited in Sinton, Texas (year not given) and was named/described in 1923. UCR lists Cleopatra mandarin rootstock and January–April ripening at Riverside. These are attributed historical or accession-specific claims, not universal measurements; the user-requested 50% Kumquat / 25% Sweet Orange / 25% Poncirus ancestry is pedigree arithmetic, not genetic assay.
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Growing Fruit forum; post by clarkinks, linked Madison Citrus Nursery listing · 2026-07-18
https://growingfruit.org/t/revisiting-cold-hardy-citrus-in-2026/81053/13 (opens in a new tab)
Post #13 reproduces a Madison Citrus Nursery listing: Sinton is described as having unifoliate leaves even as a seedling, denser and more kumquat-like than Thomasville, and bearing small kumquat-like fruit that matures bright orange to nearly red; ornamental use is noted. The listing gives an approximate dormant mature-tree hardiness estimate of 10°F with possible significant damage. This is commercial copy embedded in a member post, not a firsthand observation or controlled cold test; treat 10°F as a seller estimate only. Its historical narrative is not independent of UCR's attributed account.
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Citrus Growers Forum read-only archive; post by eyeckr (Citruholic) · 2014-05-10
http://citrusgrowersstatic.chez.com/web/viewtopic843e.php (opens in a new tab)
The opening post's Alive list includes Sinton citrangequat without an asterisk after the preceding severe winter and reports a 5–6°F record low for the grower's Virginia Beach area. A reply cites a nearby station minimum of 2°F and raises possible microclimate differences. Neither number is a temperature measured at the tree; the post gives no Sinton accession, exact site reading, duration or injury detail. Preserve as a qualified single-site survival anecdote, not a hardiness limit.
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The Tropical Fruit Forum; individual forum posters · 2024-05-03 through 2025-11-26 (thread/post dates)
https://www.tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=54779.0 (opens in a new tab)
Separate forum posts report differing opinions: Tom_GA says he has grown Sinton for years, values it as an ornamental and enjoys lime-like flavor in water or club soda; manfromyard describes a small bush, milder lime-like taste, fruit too small for his preference and tentatively suggests 8a/8b; ethane recalls very sour fruit best used ornamentally and says it hangs on the tree in Florida. Samples, sites and sensory methods are unspecified; hardiness comments are impressions, not tests. Keep opinions source- and poster-specific.
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Mark Rieger, Gerard Krewer, Pam Lewis, Mindy Linton, and Tom McClendon · HortTechnology / FGCU Scholars Commons · 2003
Peer-reviewed HortTechnology 13(3), pp. 540–544, DOI 10.21273/HORTTECH.13.3.0540; this repository record and the supplied ASHS PDF URL are the same article. Abstract only; full article table and text were unavailable. The abstract describes 16 cultivars and close relatives in Savannah, with 3–6 trees per cultivar planted in 1998 and damage observations in 1999, 2001 and 2002; annual absolute minima ranged 13–18°F. It identifies Sinton as (C. sinensis × Poncirus trifoliata) × unknown kumquat and says it survived freezing, while the kumquat-hybrid group had some defoliation and stem dieback. It gives no Sinton-specific minimum or damage value and does not identify Nagami as the kumquat parent; preserve its contrast with UCR's Nagami × Rusk entry.
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H. Yokoyama and M. J. White · Phytochemistry / Elsevier · 1966-11
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031942200861105 (opens in a new tab)
Chemical study of carotenoid pigments in Sinton citrangequat fruit flavedo. The paper's red-flavedo pigment finding is a study-specific chemical result, not a universal color description or a claim that every fruit is red.
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IDtools Citrus ID · October 2011 (Edition 2 footer)
https://idtools.org/citrus_id/index.cfm?packageID=1179&entityID=8821 (opens in a new tab)
Edition 2 compilation with taxonomy and general morphology claims, including broad-to-longer fruit and slightly rough/leathery rind. These are compilation-level descriptors and differ from the historical Hodgson account. The page also reproduces Hodgson material already cited through UCR; that text is not independent fruit evidence and is kept distinct from this database compilation.
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https://themulberries.org/cold-hardy-citrus-taste-tests/ (opens in a new tab)
The live Sinton card was visually checked against the archived card and the matching video frame; they represent one tasting. The card lists 30 g, pH 2.9, 11 °Bx, sweetness 6.5, sourness 3 and bitterness 6, plus published flavor/aroma/use descriptors and a printed overall rating of 60. Under the catalog scale preference retain sweetness 6.5, map sourness to 7 and bitterness to 4, with numeric scores and null categories. The source's “trifoliate influence” score 8.5 and “Low” descriptor are preserved as source wording, not ancestry or a catalog trait score. Keep the reported total despite mismatch with row sums.
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The Mulberries (YouTube) · 2025-11-20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32ATDliiRF8 (opens in a new tab)
Summary from transcript: The reviewer compares green and orange/ripe Sinton stages, describing the ripe sample as more orange-like and the green sample as more lime-like. The final Sinton card shown at 32:45 matches the live website scorecard; treat them as one review. The video reports a 30 g fruit, pH 2.9, 11 °Bx and the original row scores, but instrument readings were not independently verified. Separate green/orange measurements and flavor comments remain stage-specific; the spoken early tasting scores differ from the final card. The speaker's qualified pedigree opinion is not used as established parentage.
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alexFortJames (YouTube) · 2026-03-07
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EeJomXg76Y (opens in a new tab)
Summary from transcript: At 7:15–9:20 the speaker says a small winter-refrigerated Sinton sample appears dried out, peels easily, has less edible skin and is not a good example; Sinton is also described as an attractive small tree. The speaker calls it the poorest-tasting sample among those compared but cautions that this is not a good specimen. Preserve the winter-stored, deteriorated sample context; do not generalize to fresh ripe fruit.
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Sweet Home Alabama Homestead (YouTube) · 2024-11-01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dUk559y6cA (opens in a new tab)
Summary from transcript: In one informal Sinton tasting, the speaker describes mandarin-like aroma, soft skin and a few possibly undeveloped seeds, then says the fruit could work in lemonade. He says this sample had no bitterness, while warning that the preceding very bitter Rusk sample may have affected his perception. This is a verbal absence, not a numeric score; retain the sample caveat and do not transfer Rusk bitterness to Sinton. No maturity, harvest date, site or measurements are stated.
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