Monday 20 June 2022

Thoughts on Citrus and Orange Blossom

Thoughts on Citrus 

A favorite theme of Japanese poetry is the scent of orange blossom specifically the scrnt of Tachibana which doesnt actually have edible.

But like the rest of the world the Japanese got their citrus fruits from China. 

While the ancestors of most of the many varieties of citrus fruit seem to derive from one or two or three species so closely genetically similar they could be crossed by accident or intent to make fertile hybrids it seems to have been Chinese gardeners and orchardists who developed Citrons Buddhas Hand Yuzu Mandarins Bitter Oranges Sweet Oranges Lemons Limes Pomelos Tangerines Kumquats and more.

Oh and the Mediterranean citrus fruits probably reached Europe via the Arabs importing seed or trees from India and China or hybridizing those imports with a local variant of the Citron.

Those Japanese and other orchardists in California ?
Those varieties are hybrids.

Enjoying a so called sumo fruit or tangelo or a blood orange.

Thank some ancient traveller from SE Asia who brought the seeds or fruit to China ! 

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