Mandarin orange

Mandarin orange
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	C. reticulata
Binomial name
Citrus reticulata Blanco

The Mandarin orange, also known as the mandarin or mandarine (both lower-case), is a small citrus tree (Citrus reticulata) with fruit resembling other oranges. Mandarin oranges are usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Specifically reddish-orange mandarin cultivars can be marketed as tangerines, but this is not a botanical classification.

The tree is more drought-tolerant than the fruit. The mandarin is tender, and is damaged easily by cold. It can be grown in tropical and subtropical areas.

Varieties

Canned and peeled mandarin orange segments

Kinnow, a variety of Mandarin orange from Pakistan

The mandarin orange is a variety of the orange family. The mandarin has many names, some of which actually refer to crosses between the mandarin and another citrus fruit.

• Satsuma, a seedless variety, of which there are over 200 cultivars, such as Owari and mikan; the source of most canned mandarins, and popular as a fresh fruit due to its ease of consumption
• Owari, a well-known Satsuma cultivar which ripens during the late fall season
• Clementine, sometimes known as a "Christmas orange", as its peak season is December; becoming the most important commercial Mandarin orange form, have displaced mikans in many markets
• Tangerine sometimes known as "Dancy Mandarin"
• Tangor, also called the temple orange, a cross between the Mandarin orange and the common sweet orange; its thick rind is easy to peel and its bright orange pulp is sour-sweet and full-flavored

The mandarin is easily peeled with the fingers, starting at the thick rind covering the depression at the top of the fruit, and can be easily split into even segments without squirting juice. This makes it convenient to eat, as utensils are not required to peel or cut the fruit.

Canned mandarin segments are peeled to remove the white pith prior to canning; otherwise, they turn bitter. Segments are peeled using a chemical process. First, the segments are scalded in hot water to loosen the skin; then they are bathed in a lye solution which digests the albedo and membranes. Finally, the segments undergo several rinses in plain water.

During Chinese New Year, Mandarin oranges and tangerines are considered traditional symbols of abundance and good fortune. During the two-week celebration, they are frequently displayed as decoration and presented as gifts to friends, relatives, and business associates.

Biological characteristics

Closeup of mandarin tree

Citrus fruits are usually self-fertile (needing only a bee to move pollen within the same flower) or parthenocarpic (not needing pollination and therefore seedless, such as the satsuma).

Blossoms from the Dancy cultivar are one exception. They are self-sterile, and therefore must have a pollenizer variety to supply pollen, and a high bee population to make a good crop. The fruit is oblate.

Medicinal uses

In traditional Chinese medicine, the dried peel of the fruit is used in the regulation of ch'i, and also used to treat abdominal distension, to enhance digestion, and to reduce phlegm. Mandarins have also been used in ayurveda (traditional medicine of India).

Production volume

Milgam hwachae, a Korean fruit dish made with mandarin oranges and honey

Tangerines, mandarins, clementines Top ten producers in 2007 (1000 tonnes)
People's Republic of China	15,185
Spain	1,974
Brazil	1,206
Japan	1,066
Morocco	1,042
South Korea	778
Egypt	748
Turkey	744
Iran	702
Thailand	670
Pakistan	640
All other	4,156
World total	27,869
Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO),

The "Clemenules" (or "Nules", the Valencian town where it was bred) accounts for the great majority of clementines produced in the world. Spain alone has over 200,000 acres (800 km²), producing fruit between November and January. Mandarins marketed as tangerines are usually Dancy, Sunburst or Murcott (Honey) cultivars.

See also

• Fairchild tangerine
• Tangelo
• Naartjie
• Kinnow Mandarin
• Mandelo

References

Notes

• "Citrus reticulata" at Plants for a Future

External links

• Mandarin Orange Nutrition Facts
• UC Riverside Mandarin Variety Descriptions
• Mandarin Orange - from Morton, J. (1987) Fruits of Warm Climates
• A Mandarin by Any Other Name by Cindy Fake, UC Davis Cooperative Extension