Cultivar "Mediterranean"? Higher classification Citrus | Origin Italy Rank Species | |
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Hybrid parentage Parents unknown; has a mixture of mandarin and pomelo ancestry, though it was once thought to be a pure mandarin. Marketing names Willowleaf, Ba Ahmed (Morocco), Blida, Boufarik and Bougie (Algeria), Bodrum (Turkey), Paterno and Palermo (Italy), Nice and Provence (France), Valencia (Spain), Setúbal (Portugal); commune (French), comuna (Spanish), gallego (Portuguese), koina (Greek), yerli (Turkish), and beladi (various spellings, Arabic); Effendi or Yousef Effendi (Egypt and the Near East), Emperor, Avana or Speciale (Italy), Thorny (Australia), Mexirica or Do Rio (Brazil), Montegrina, Natal, and Chino or Amarillo (Mexico). Similar Ponkan, Tangor, Tangerine, Volkamer lemon, Murcott | ||
Citrus ×deliciosa (thorny (Australia), amarillo, beladi, Willowleaf Mandarin, Mediterranean Mandarin) is a citrus hybrid (mandarin × pumelo), though it was once thought to be a pure mandarin. It is related to the ponkan.
It has been widely grown around the Mediterranean since it appeared in Italy (between 1810 and 1818), but was not found in the orient until it was exported there. It is one of the most commercially important citrus. Its sweet fruit is eaten, its rind oil is used to flavour food and drinks, and petitgrain oil is extracted from the pruned leaves.
References
Citrus × deliciosa Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA