Kumquats, or cumquats in Australian English, are a group of small, angiosperm, fruit-bearing trees in the family Rutaceae. Their taxonomy is disputed. They were previously classified as forming the now-historical genus Fortunella or placed within Citrus, sensu lato. Different classifications have alternatively assigned them to anywhere from a single species, Citrus japonica, to numerous species representing each cultivar. Recent genomic analysis defines three pure species, Citrus hindsii, C. margarita and C. crassifolia, with C. × japonica being a hybrid of the last two.
Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes.
A mandarin orange, often simply called mandarin, is a small, rounded citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. The mandarin is small and oblate, unlike the roughly spherical sweet orange. The taste is sweeter and stronger than the common orange. A ripe mandarin orange is firm to slightly soft, heavy for its size, and pebbly-skinned. The peel is thin and loose, with little white mesocarp, so they are usually easier to peel and to split into segments. Hybrids have these traits to lesser degrees. The mandarin orange is tender and is damaged easily by cold. It can be grown in tropical and subtropical areas.
Citrus cavaleriei, the Ichang papeda, is a slow-growing species of papeda that has characteristic lemon-scented foliage and flowers.
A lime is a citrus fruit, which is typically round, lime green in colour, 3–6 centimetres (1.2–2.4 in) in diameter, and contains acidic juice vesicles.
The citron, historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization. Though citron cultivars take on a wide variety of physical forms, they are all closely related genetically. It is used in Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, traditional medicines, perfume, and religious rituals and offerings. Hybrids of citrons with other citrus are commercially more prominent, notably lemons and many limes.
The pomelo, also known as a shaddock, is the largest citrus fruit. It is an ancestor of several cultivated citrus species, including the bitter orange and the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefruit, the pomelo is commonly eaten and used for festive occasions throughout Southeast and East Asia. As with the grapefruit, phytochemicals in the pomelo have the potential for drug interactions.
Yuzu is a citrus fruit and plant in the family Rutaceae of Chinese origin. Yuzu has been cultivated mainly in East Asia, though it has also recently been grown in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Italy, and France.
Sweet lemon and sweet lime refer to groups of citrus hybrids that contain low acid pulp and juice. They are hybrids often similar to non-sweet lemons or limes, but with less citron parentage. Sweet limes and lemons are not sharply separated:
The sweet lime, Citrus limettioides Tan., is often confused with the sweet lemon, C. limetta Tan., which, in certain areas, is referred to as "sweet lime". In some of the literature, it is impossible to tell which fruit is under discussion.
A hesperidium is a modified berry with a tough, leathery rind, as in the oranges and lemons of the genus Citrus.
Papeda or papaeda is the common name for a group of Citrus species and varieties native to tropical Asia that are hardy and slow-growing, and produce unpalatable fruit. Walter Tennyson Swingle segregated these species into a separate subgenus, Papeda, that included the Ichang lemon, yuzu, kaffir lime, kabosu, sudachi, and a number of wild and uncultivated species and hybrids. Recent genetic analysis shows the papedas to be distributed among distinct branches of the Citrus phylogenetic tree, and hence Swingle's proposed subgenus is polyphyletic and not a valid taxonomic grouping, but the term persists as a common name.
Citrus macroptera, natively known as hatkhora or cabuyao, Melanesian papeda, or wild orange, is a semi-wild species of citrus native to the Sylhet region of Bangladesh and the Barak Valley Division of the Indian state of Assam.
The lemon is a species of small evergreen tree in the Citrus genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, including Northeast India where it was first grown. It is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange.
Citrofortunella are a large group of commercial hybrids that cross the kumquat with other citrus. In the system of citrus taxonomy established by Swingle, kumquats were placed in a different genus, Fortunella, from Citrus, which included citron, mandarin orange, pomelo and papedas. The result of genetic crosses between kumquats and these other citrus would then be intergeneric hybrids, so a novel genus name was coined for them in 1975, by compounding the names of the contributing genera to form Citrofortunella. That the genus is of a hybrid nature is represented by a multiplication sign before the genus name, for example × Citrofortunella microcarpa. Recent phylogenetic work has shown kumquats to fall within Citrus rather than belonging to a distinct genus, meaning these would no longer be considered intergeneric hybrids, and use of Citrofortunella as a distinct genus name for these hybrids loses taxonomic validity. All would be placed instead within Citrus.
Clymenia is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae with two species. The genus is often included in Citrus.
The micrantha is a wild citrus from the papeda group, native to southern Philippines, particularly islands of Cebu and Bohol. Two varieties are recognized: small-flowered papeda, locally known as biasong, and small-fruited papeda or samuyao.
Rhobs al-Arsa is a very popular citrus fruit in Morocco.
Citrus taxonomy is the botanical classification of the species, varieties, cultivars, and graft hybrids within the genus Citrus and related genera, found in cultivation and in the wild.
Pompia, also called pumpia, sa pompia, spompia, and China citron, is a Citrus hybrid cultivated for its edible fruit. It is a taxonomical synonym of Citrus medica.
Mandarin oranges are cultivated in many varieties. These include both the original wild mandarins and many hybrid varieties with other Citrus species.
