Clementine (fruit)
As Clementine or Clementine [ klemɛntiːnə ] ( Citrus aurantium x ) refers to a group of hybrids of the genus Citrus Plants ( Citrus ). The clementine is a hybrid between mandarin ( Citrus reticulata ) and bitter orange ( Citrus × aurantium L. ). Fruit and tree have the same name, the tree can be around four to six meters tall. It is known colloquially in Germany as the mandarin.
The clementines originated in the Mediterranean area; similar groups of varieties are also known from East Asia, for example under the name Satsuma .
description
Clementines grow as a small, evergreen tree with a round, spread crown. The branches are relatively thin and hardly covered with thorns. The leaves are lanceolate and variable in size. The plants are quite cold-tolerant compared to other citrus plants, and the fruits do not need high temperatures to ripen. Clementine plants are very similar to the tangerine. The usual harvest season for clementines is from November to January.
The fruits are round, the outer layer of the peel ( exocarp ) is orange and shiny with numerous oil glands that appear as tiny dents in the surface. The outer, colored peel and the white tissue underneath ( mesocarp ) adhere to the inside of the fruit. The interior consists of eight to twelve segments, the central axis is often hollow. The individual segments are filled with orange pulp. Depending on the variety and depending on whether fertilization by foreign pollen took place, seeds develop. These are green inside and contain only one embryo.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 18.
Systematics
The Clementine takes its name from the Trappist monk Frère Clément (Vincent Rodier 1829-1904), who ran the horticultural business of the orphanage of Misserghin (near Oran in Algeria ) and was the first to discover and scientifically describe the Clementine. It may have been known in China earlier. Quote from James Saunt: "Some authorities believe it is virtually identical to the variety known as the Canton mandarin widely grown in Guangxi and Guangdong Provinces in China".
As a scientific name one often finds Citrus clementina or Citrus reticulata 'Clementine'. Since it is a cross that ultimately goes back to the species mandarine and (via the intermediate step orange) pomelo , it should be named Citrus × aurantium clementine group.
distribution
The clementine, like the satsuma ( Citrus × aurantium ) and the oval kumquat ( Fortunella margarita ), is one of the most cold-tolerant citrus plants . This relative cold tolerance has u. a. led to the fact that clementine cultivation in Florida was expanded after various frost events that had seriously affected traditional orange cultures. This cold tolerance is also the reason why the clementine is the only economically important agrumen culture in France . Orange cultivation and bitter orange cultivation, on the other hand, have hardly any economic relevance for agrumen culture in France.
The clementine is cultivated in southern Europe , northwest Africa and Florida .
Economical meaning
See: Economic Importance of the Tangerine
Individual evidence
- ↑ Citrus clementina hoard. ex Tanaka at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ E. Nicolosi et al. (2004): Citrus phylogeny and genetic origin of important species as investigated by molecular markers . Theoretical and Applied Genetics 100 (8): 1155-1166.
literature
- Michel Courboulex: Les Agrumes. Oranges, citrons, pamplemousse, kumquats . Paris 1997, (Editions rustica), ISBN 2-84038-183-4 .
- W. Reuther, HJ Webber, LD Batchelor (Eds.) (1967): The Citrus Industry . Vol. 1 & 2. University of California. Digitized
