Swingin' Swingles.

Meet Citrus aurantifolia Swingle, a.k.a. the  key lime tree. I googled 'swingle.'  Before I go on, why include this tree in my BCA blog, purchased and planted  sometime between last July and the present-day? I'd narrow down the time-frame, but I've forgotten when we bought this fragrant fellow. Key lime trees attract giant swallowtail butterflies. Not GIANT swallowtail bflies (though they are large on the bfly scale), but giant swallowtails, as in, that's their name, like gulf fritillary or zebra longwing or spicebush swallowtail. So, our key lime tree is as much a part of the garden as the pentas and pipevine.

So. A latin name that includes 'Swingle.' So far in my search, swingle is a Colorado landscaping company, a Colorado woman duped out of a monetary donation by a co-worker's false cancer claim, a New Jersey councilman, a 1920's jazz musician from Alabama, a key-lime-pie-on-a stick dipped in chocolate, and a wooden tool for scraping and beating flax and/or hemp.

I added 'botanist' to 'swingle' and found William Tennyson Swingle. And, yes, the man, an American,  had done extensive world-wide citrus research since the early 1900s. He was possessed to collect botanical literature, including 100,000 volumes from China, which you may view in our country's Library of Congress. I'd rather see Eleanor Glanville's collection of dead bflies in England's Museum of Natural History, but that's just me.

So. Though I've not found explicit explanation, the 'swingle' in Citrus aurantifolia Swingle is most likely Mr. William Tennyson Swingle.

Wonder if he's any relation to Lord Alfred...

_______________________________________________________________________________

Those choco-dipped swingles really looked good. Check 'em out here: http://stevesauthentic.com/wpnew/?page_id=23

Fascinated by Mr. W.T. Swingle? Cuz I know you are. Here: http://www.multilingualarchive.com/ma/dewiki/en/Walter_Tennyson_Swingle