What is a tangerine: where does it come from, how and where does it grow?
The bright yellow or orange fruits of the tangerine tree come from wild trees native to the southeast of modern China. Today, tangerines are grown in many countries (where there are suitable conditions for this) - they are among the most popular citrus fruits throughout the world.
The tangerine season begins in November-December and lasts about seven months. Juicy slices are much sweeter and juicier than orange ones. The thin peel with a high content of essential oil is easy to clean and emits a strong aroma. From the article you will learn what a tangerine is, where the name comes from, in which countries the trees grow, what the fruits look like and when they ripen.
History of origin and homeland of mandarin
The genealogy of citrus fruits has been little studied, so information about the process of their cultivation is extremely scarce. To fill this gap, scientists from Spain, France and the United States have set out to trace the history of citrus crops. The research results were published in the oldest scientific journal Nature.
During the research, it was possible to find out that the first citrus fruits appeared in Southeast and South Asia. These fruits resembled all citrus fruits known today at the same time. Then the plant spread throughout the subtropics and tropics - from the western part of Pakistan to the central part of China, and appeared on the Polynesian islands, Melanesia, New Guinea and the northeast of the Australian continent.As a result of crossing plants with different traits, limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruits and tangerines appeared.
Under the leadership of Daniel Roxar (Joint Institute of Genetics of the US Department of Energy) and Manuel Talon (Institute of Agricultural Research of Valencia), a group of geneticists has established the nucleotide sequence in the DNA molecule of 30 plant species from the genus Citrus. To do this, we used sequencing methods (translated from English as Sequence means “sequence”). At the same time, scientists analyzed the known genomes of 28 species of the genus Citrus and plants of the genus Severinia (Rutaceae). This helped establish the time and place of origin of citrus fruits.
Genetic data show that plants appeared approximately 8 million years ago in southeastern China, northeastern India and Myanmar. This is confirmed by archaeological finds in Yunnan province - the fossilized remains of extinct citrus trees from the end of the Miocene (8-6 million BC).
The period of plant spread throughout tropical Asia took about 2 million years. According to scientists, this was facilitated by changes in climate - it became drier, and there were fewer monsoon rains.
In the process of “domestication” varieties and hybrids appeared. Citron became the “progenitor” for lime, lemon and tangerine. As a result of crossing pomelo with tangerine, oranges and larger subspecies of tangerines emerged. And grapefruit appeared thanks to the cross-pollination of orange and pomelo.
Mandarin has its own hybrid forms:
- Tangelo (photo below) is the result of crossing a tangerine and a grapefruit. The taste of the fruit is reminiscent of oranges.
- Tangors - the result of crossing a tangerine and an orange. The taste is tangerine, with sourness.
- Mandarin Satsuma or Satsuma - a sweet tangerine with juicy seedless pulp.
Citrus fruits appeared on the territory of modern European countries, including the Mediterranean, approximately 2.5 thousand years ago.. In Syria, Egypt and Palestine, citron was highly valued, despite its inedibility. Tangerines were brought to Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. According to one version, in 1840, Neapolitan Michel Tenor brought a tangerine tree to Italy. Europeans liked the fragrant fruits. At first, the crop was grown in greenhouses, then in open ground in the south of Italy and France, and later in other countries with mild climates.
Interesting things on the site:
First mentions and origin of the name
A Chinese manuscript dated 1178 describes 27 varieties of tangerines.. The fruits of the tangerine tree received their usual name in China. According to one version, tangerines were available exclusively to rich and well-born Chinese officials - mandarins. Translated from Portuguese, mandarim means advisor. According to another version, the fruit received its name due to the similarity of the color of the peel and the color of the clothes of officials.
It is most correct to call exclusively yellow fruits tangerines.. Orange-skinned fruits are commonly called tangerines in other countries. However, in Russia this color division did not take root.
Interesting. The Chinese have a New Year tradition that dates back to more than 1000 BC. e. - give the owners two tangerines upon arrival. The owners of the house give the same amount of fruit to departing guests. Translated from Chinese, “a pair of tangerines” means “gold,” which is quite symbolic.
Is this a fruit or a berry?
According to the botanical description, tangerine is a representative of citrus fruits, that is, neither a berry nor a fruit. The scientific name of the mandarin is hesperidium, a multi-seeded, multi-locular fruit, a special variety of berry-shaped fruit. The pulp is covered with exocarp - a shell of rich yellow color. Underneath it is a spongy layer - albedo and endocarp. Hesperidium is formed from the superior ovary, which is typical for the citrus subfamily.
Botanical description
Mandarin (lat. Citrus reticulata) is a plant belonging to the genus Citrus, family Rutaceae.. The same name refers to the fruits of this crop.
What does a tangerine tree look like? Its height at a young age does not exceed 4 m, and closer to 30 years it reaches 5 m. The rhizome is powerful, spreading, exceeding the diameter of the crown. The shoots are dark green when young and turn brown as they age.
Plant lifespan – 80-100 years.
The leaves are small, elliptical or ovoid, pointed at the ends, with a glossy splash. The structure is dense. Petioles – winged or wingless. Renewal of foliage - once every 4 years.
Flowering begins in April and ends in June. During this period, the trees look elegant - white or soft cream flowers exude a pleasant aroma reminiscent of bergamot. The flowers are self-pollinating and arranged in pairs in the leaf axils. Petals are white, matte. Stamens mostly have underdeveloped anthers and pollen.
Fruits – multi-locular, with or without seeds. Diameter – 4-6 cm. Shape – round, slightly flattened at the poles. Visually, the width is greater than the height. The pulp is juicy, sweeter than orange, yellow-orange in color, cut into 10-12 segments with spindle-shaped juice sacs. Weight – 30-100 g. Maximum sugar content – 13.5%.
The peel or outer layer is scientifically called flavedo. (Latin flavus - “yellow”). When the tangerines are ripe, the peel turns bright orange. The peel is thin, easily removed from ripe fruits, and contains spherical glands with essential oil. In some, the skin and flesh do not touch each other. Between them there is an air layer.
The inner layer located under the orange peel is called albedo (Latin albus - “white”). The structure is loose. At the early stage of fruit formation, albedo serves as a source of moisture. After the appearance of juice sacs, the layer atrophies and becomes spongy.
When do tangerines ripen? The crop begins to bear fruit 3-4 years after planting. The ripening period is October-December. Fruiting lasts 6-7 months. The yield from one tree that has reached the age of 30-45 years is 500-1000 fruits per year. The indicator is unstable and varies depending on the characteristics of the variety, the health of the plant, conditions and place of growth. Trees love warmth, sun and moisture.
Read also:
How to care for pomegranate in a pot
How to distinguish a tangerine sprout from a lemon
A careful examination of the leaves will help you distinguish between lemon and tangerine sprouts.:
- At the lemon the leaf blade is elongated, ovate, serrated in a crenate or finely serrated manner. Petioles are short, without wings. The color of the leaves and young shoots is soft green.
- At the tangerine The leaf blade is pointed, dark green, oval. The edges are wavy or smooth. The petiole is 1-1.5 cm long, with underdeveloped wings 1 mm long. However, there are varieties with wingless leaves.
Where do tangerines grow?
The culture is widespread in India, China, Japan and South Korea. Tangerines are actively cultivated in Italy (Sicily) and Spain, Greece (Argolis region), in the south of France, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Florida (USA), Argentina and Brazil.
The crop is cultivated in the countries of the former USSR: in Georgia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Transcaucasia, on the Black Sea coast.
Conclusion
Mandarin is a citrus loved by many. To find out in which modern country tangerines appeared, genetic scientists had to conduct a series of studies of the known genomes of citrus fruits. Researchers were able to find out that the birthplace of this culture is Southeast China, Northeast India and Myanmar.
The tree blooms from April to June. After this, you just have to wait for the tangerines to ripen. This occurs in November-December, depending on the growing region. Tangerines are fruits with bright yellow skin and sweet and sour pulp. Tangerines are the name given to fruits with orange skin, but this name has not taken root in Russia.
Tangerines are grown in countries with warm climates: Brazil, Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Abkhazia, Morocco. Up to 1000 fruits are collected from one mature tree per year.
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