Wekiwa Tangelo

The 1931 account says Wekiwa resulted during a series of backcrosses from using Sampson tangelo pollen on a grapefruit seedling. It describes the fruit as resembling Sampson on the outside.^⁠[2]

The account says this fruit had been commonly called the pink tangelo and proposes the name Wekiwa after a spring in Orange County, Florida.^⁠[2]

The account says Sampson traits appeared dominant in this backcross, especially in foliage, describing small, rounded, constricted and recurved (boat-shaped) leaves. It reports that several Indio seedlings showed no variation from the parent tree in fruit or foliage.^⁠[2]

A 1931 description says Wekiwa fruit is usually small to medium, round or slightly flattened (occasionally pear-shaped), with a smooth, glossy rind and often pink blotches. It reports 9 or 10 segments; the segment walls and inner rind are red-tinged, while the pulp vesicles are amber. Seeds vary, often averaging about one per segment, with some fruit seedless.^⁠[2]

The 1931 account reports that Wekiwa fruit in Florida reached maturity by early November and stayed in good condition for several months; the pulp lost color after full maturity in late December. It contrasts this early maturity with the later season reported for Sampson tangelo.^⁠[2]

The 1931 Circular separately describes a Bowen grapefruit × Sampson tangelo backcross (CPB 52014-A-10). It reports that this other pink-fleshed hybrid was smaller and generally inferior to Wekiwa, but resembled it in physical make-up.^⁠[2]

Descriptions vary in flesh color: the 1931 Circular distinguishes red-tinged segment walls and inner rind from amber pulp vesicles; UCR’s April 1987 note records yellow flesh; Aprici describes conditional pink blush, while TCF-037 describes pink pulp.^{⁠[2]⁠[1]⁠[3]⁠[4]}

Individual reports describe different Wekiwa fruit and growing contexts. A Reddit commenter reports about five fruits on a year-two container plant that stayed bright yellow but remained astringent and seedy; Houzz and Agrumes-Passion posts describe separate fallen-fruit samples. A video presenter describes one friend-supplied fruit as grapefruit-scented and apparently juicy. In two Houzz accounts, commenters disputed the identity of the reported fruit.^{⁠[6]⁠[8]⁠[11]⁠[12]⁠[7]⁠[9]}