Bell pepper is a wonderful tasty and healthy vegetable that you can ...
I pluck a little sun from a branch. A huge yellow grapefruit does not fit in the palm of your hand and weighs three hundred and fifty grams. No, I'm not in some citrus country, but not far from the very center of Sochi. A little bit of your Kurortny prospect "produces" a citrus harvest, the world's only garden-museum "Tree of Friendship". And this is the department of the All-Russian Research Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Crops of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the Russian Federation, where we are talking about import substitution.
It all started with a wild lemon
It all started with a wild lemon tree. In 1934, 80 years ago Russian breeder Fedor Zorin planted a small wild lemon tree in Sochi. To obtain new frost-resistant citrus varieties, the scientist grafted into it forty-five species and varieties of citrus fruits from different parts of the world. And they caught on! Six years later, the famous polar explorer Otto Schmidt saw this unusual tree and was amazed at the amazing neighborhood of lemons with oranges and tangerines. The famous polar explorer was allowed to receive his author's vaccination. Since then, the tradition of green autographs on the miracle tree was born ...
Otto Schmidt planted the first "author's" twig on the miracle tree. And in 57, Vietnamese doctors who visited Sochi suggested calling the tree-garden the Tree of Friendship. This year, the miracle tree celebrates its 80th anniversary. During this time, ambassadors from different countries of the world planted their living autographs on the Tree of Friendship. Can you imagine? Every year, the citrus sprigs of the planet's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and the famous Mexican artist Siqueiros, the American singer Paul Robson and the first president of Russia Boris Yeltsin give a crop of citrus. Representatives of almost all countries of our planet have been vaccinated on the Tree of Friendship.
For a long time this Sochi Tree was a unique peacekeeping exhibit, however, with all due respect to the cause of peace, the scientist Zorin pursued a completely different goal. In our time, it would be called “technology of import substitution”. Still, Zorin's citrus fruits in Sochi were not inferior in their useful qualities to the most elite samples. The trees have been adapted to local conditions in terms of frost resistance and have produced a good harvest on the slopes around the museum. It is clear that the main goal of this breeding work was, by today's standards, a very relevant topic - providing the country's workers with domestic citrus fruits. How relevant it is today!
Sochi grapefruit and youth
Like many years ago, Sochi breeders continue to work on new varieties of frost-resistant citrus fruits. There are successes! The head of the garden-museum "Tree of Friendship", and this is the department of the State Scientific Institution Research Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Cultures, Nadezhda Gutieva invites you to the museum garden. However, I would call it an experimental plantation ...
“Look, under the same crown, different varieties of citrus fruits have taken root, as it were, fruits of“ different nationalities, ”says Nadezhda Gutieva.“ These are Japanese tangerines. Then there are Italian lemons and American grapefruits. Slightly to the right on the branch are Nepalese oranges and Chinese kinkans ...
- Isn't it possible to plant gardens of such trees?
- Of course not. And why? Our institute has developed new varieties of frost-resistant grapefruits and tangerines, and, of course, these fruits can be grown on an industrial scale in some areas of Sochi, which, in fact, was done before ...
- Tell me, if the state task of import substitution of citrus fruits is set, will Sochi be able to feed the country with grapefruits?
- Well, if there is funding for development and, most importantly, a place for protected plantations, then there will definitely be no problems with grapefruits and tangerines. I emphasize once again: our local varieties of tangerines have already been bred in Sochi! Even young people are growing up here. And you yourself know how exotic kiwi used to be, but now this fruit grows in Sochi, almost on every house plot ...
- You said "youths". What kind of fruit is this?
- This is a healthy citrus fruit. For example, in China it has been known for over 2500 years! Yunos is distinguished by its increased frost resistance and is used in breeding for the development of new frost-resistant varieties of other citrus species. And we use ...
Zorin tangerines
The Sochi Research Institute of Horticulture and Subtropical Crops has a “gene pool” of frost-resistant tangerine trees, and if a task is set, new frost-resistant citrus fruits can be developed within a few years.
- In our institute there is a constant breeding work and, of course, there are also seedlings of those very "Zorin" frost-resistant tangerines. If necessary, we will be able to provide high-quality tangerine trees within a few years. Another thing is where to plant them? For the gardens, it will be necessary to choose undeveloped warm areas on the slopes closer to the sea, which, if you try, I think, you can still find ...
In the current situation, it is unlikely that anyone will object that it is time to revive the large-scale citrus production in Sochi, the base of which has been preserved by Sochi scientists from the Research Institute of Horticulture and Subtropical Crops. Mandarin and other import substitution citrus orchards are now a hot topic for the country. Especially under New Year... On New Year's Eve, the houses of Russians always smell of tangerines. And under the tree I will have the aroma of Sochi grapefruit, which I picked in the amazing Sochi garden.
New experiences worth pursuing
I am sometimes asked why I did not create my experimental gardens in Southern California. I always answer that I chose the place by chance, but that soon there were reasons not to change it. The main of these reasons was that I was going to grow fruit, ornamental and vegetable plants capable of growing in as wide areas as possible, and therefore the region I chose with relatively cold winters corresponded to this purpose. Moreover, almost all of our fruit plants grow and excel in this area better than anywhere else in the southern region.
On the other hand, however, this place is not entirely devoid of disadvantages. While I have had the opportunity to experiment with great success with frost-hardy plants, I have had difficulty with plants that are more sensitive; This is especially true for the orange and other fruits of the citrus family.
Naturally, these fruit plants interested me from the very beginning, not only because of their economic importance, but also because the five familiar species of this family, namely orange, lemon, lime, pumpelmus and citron, represent a fascinating variety of forms and characteristics. closely related. Therefore, they interbreed with each other very easily and thus provide the experimental plant breeder with the possibilities of discoveries that he constantly strives for.
Probably all of these citrus fruit plants branched off from the same original species found somewhere in the region of northern India. But although the habitat of these plants has always been limited to the subtropical climate, they have nevertheless changed so much that they formed completely independent species, and each of the species of this genus has fixed completely definite characteristics.
None of them can reproduce by seeds, because the same deviation in traits is manifested here as is observed in other fruit crops. For example, all varieties of orange are completely different from any kind of lemon, and you cannot grow a lemon from an orange seed, and vice versa; however, the offspring can differ greatly from the parental form within the range of species variation.
Attempts to breed a hardy orange
My attempts at cultivating citrus date back almost 25 years ago. For some time, I continued to actively research everything that was possible, including the small-fruited variety of the Japanese orange called "Kumquat", "Kimkan" or "Ktsnkit", Cytrus japonica. It has small, lime-like fruits that appear in great abundance. The flesh of the fruit is sour, but the skin is sweet with a pleasant orange aroma.
Wild oranges were also sent to me from Central Africa, Australia and South America, and the best of the cultivated varieties from Burma, Ceylon and other less remote areas. My original goal was to develop a hardy orange, one that would grow in Northern California and the eastern states north of the current cold-sensitive fruit plant.
In the beginning, my experiments were quite successful, and soon I already had many hybrid seedlings. But then a series of cold winters passed that destroyed the entire citrus garden, and after one or two other attempts, I came to the conclusion that my plots were in an area not suitable for growing citrus fruits. The breeding of frost-resistant varieties should initially be carried out in an area with more favorable conditions.
However, I have often expressed the opinion that a frost-hardy orange can be obtained, and it should be noted with satisfaction that experiments in this direction have recently begun under the supervision of the United States government. The wild form, which is known as Citrus trifoliata, has almost never been cultivated and is extremely hardy. In the experiments just mentioned, she was crossed with a sweet orange, and promising results are expected.
“Among the seedlings monitored,” says Professor East, “seedlings with valuable traits have emerged. They form a new kind of citrus and are named Citranges. From this group of seedlings, three varieties were identified, named "Rask", "Uilitz" and "Morton". The fruits of the Raek variety, which is a hybrid of an orange crossed with C. trifoliata, are small, with a characteristic bitter taste like grapefruit, from which excellent marmalade and canned food are made. Wilitz, obtained by pollination of C. trifoliata with orange pollen, produces fruits with a rough but thin skin, resembling an orange in appearance, and a lemon in taste.
They are used for the preparation of seasonings and punch. The Morton variety, which comes from the same crossing as Wheelyz, has large, juicy fruits, almost without seeds, with slightly more bitterness than a sweet orange.
Young trees of these three varieties can withstand temperatures of 13 ° below zero; on this basis, it is believed that using these and other obtained varieties with such properties, citrus fruits can be advanced 700 km north of their modern cultural areas. "
There is no doubt that the orange will always survive as a relatively delicate fruit plant because it is an evergreen that has never moved away from the tropics.
There is almost no doubt that it can be made much more frost-resistant than any of existing forms citrus fruits, and the need for such a frost-resistant form is so great that there should be no shortage of experimenters to work in this field.
The orange harvest, even in Florida, is occasionally killed by unusual frosts. For example, in 1895, the death of trees was so great that it caused serious disruption to production for a number of years. Therefore, it is imperative to bring out such an orange shape that would be able to withstand occasional cold weather. But, judging by the results of the exploration experiments just noted, little has been achieved in this direction.
This field of activity is open to any experimenter who lives in an area lying within the modern orange zone (preferably near the northern border of the orange crop), and a sure and significant reward awaits the experimenter for successfully breeding a frost-hardy orange.
Seedless citrus fruits
Nowadays, everyone knows the so-called "Navel" orange, which combines the remarkable quality of the absence of seeds with a large fruit size and mainly excellent taste.
The seedlessness of this orange is not the result of artificial selection, but manifested itself as a "sport" in some wild oranges in Brazil. Countless wild oranges are found in the Amazon region.
One lady, traveling in South America, was surprised to find among the oranges served at the hotel where she was staying, several seedless fruits - something completely incomprehensible until that time even for gardeners growing these fruits. This fact was reported to the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC and the new variety was imported in 1870. Four years later, the trees were sent from Washington to California, where the origin and special properties of this form were studied, which was later renamed "Washington Navel" and soon began to be widely cultivated. This variety is subject to bud variation, and thus several more or less different varieties have already been obtained. But there is still room for improvement through further selection.
Orange culture
The orange is inoculated or grafted onto the roots of its own kind, the roots of a lemon or pumpelmus, which is better known as grapefruit. The budding process is the same as with other plants and is not difficult. Rootstocks can be grown from seed, but as noted, seedlings are unable to reproduce parental forms, and all the best oranges are propagated by grafting.
The main feature of the orange culture is that it must be grown on irrigated land. Water, of course, is essential for the life of all plants, but for a tree like an orange, which has abundant, evergreen foliage, water is essential; if there is an intention to bring large, juicy fruits to perfection, then all the more this need for water must be satisfied.
This dependence was known to the Moors over a thousand years ago, who, thanks to their irrigation system, turned Valencia in Spain into the center of the world's orange crop. The irrigation system created by the Moors continues to operate successfully, and Valencia is still the world's largest orange shipping port. It is only recently that California oranges have challenged the produce of Spanish orchards.
The absorption of water by the roots of a tree and its delivery down the trunk to replenish the deficiency that is created by the constant transpiration through the stomata of the leaves is a phenomenon that botanists have known to perfection for a long time. It was demonstrated experimentally by Stefan Gels at the beginning of the 18th century. But what forces lie at the heart of this phenomenon has been studied very little.
More recently, one of the famous American botanists stated that the reason that causes the sap to climb a tree is perhaps the most interesting of botanical mysteries. Someone said that in action this can be compared to the rise of water up a hill, and many botanists are puzzled by the fact that the tissues of a plant are able to withstand the pressure that a column of water must exert, especially if the tree is tall.
Titanic molecular forces
Many boys do the experiment of breaking a barrel under pressure of water in a small iron tube rising up from the barrel. Anyone who has seen this experience will have no doubt that the laws of physics that govern water in a tree trunk are completely different from those that govern water in an iron tube.
And the difference is being made, physicists assure us, through the intervention of molecular forces. Whether or not they give a full explanation of this phenomenon, the laws of osmosis discovered by Van Hoff, are up to physicists who are not yet sure of this. But everyone agrees that osmotic forces take part, at least in part, in the rise of water.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the orange, it doesn't take much effort to discover why the tree stands in such a special position in terms of its need for water. It is only necessary to remember that the mass of the orange fruit is juicy, containing 110 - 140 g of water, in order to understand where the liquid that enters in such a large number... A tree abundantly filled with fruits, say, with a thousand medium-sized fruits, contains 113-130 liters of water, respectively, and, of course, there is a constant transpiration of moisture through the leaves, of which there are much more.
Hybridization possibilities
All this, of course, applies not only to orange, but also to other related citrus fruits, especially grapefruit and lemon. The whole group of citrus fruit plants is characterized by an exceptional juiciness of the fruit, the mass of the fruit consists of water, to which a drop of pleasant acid and sugar is added, mixed with fine fibrous tissues to create the structure of the fruit.
Further, these fruits are characterized by a one-of-a-kind cover, which is painted in such an amazing color that paint from the artist's palette is named after it. These traits, like others, distinguish citrus plants into an independent highly specialized group of plants.
One should not expect any of them to be crossed with a member of any other family. But, as already mentioned, there is ample opportunity for successful crossbreeding within the citrus family.
I am sure that many interesting results will be obtained from crosses between orange, lemon, lime and citron, carried out in my garden, if the frost had not dealt with these sissies so cruelly. It is likely that new forms of citrus would be obtained, different from the existing ones in the same way, say, as plumkot differs from apricot and plum. This, of course, is only an assumption, since the experiments were interrupted, as already mentioned, before they had time to give results.
Yet the fact that I have succeeded in hybridizing between different citrus fruits is highly indicative and can serve as an incentive for other workers.
This field of activity opens up almost unlimited possibilities. The orange crop is currently a large fruit growing industry in California, as well as in the coastal states. In all these areas, experimenters must get to work. And only in this way will it be possible to spread this culture.
As a hint at the possibilities, let me remind you that the earliest plum currently in existence is the one that I obtained by successive hybridization and in which, in the end, the characteristics of the six latest ripening plums were mixed.
Therefore, it is possible that the problem of creating a hardy orange that could be grown not only along the bay, but also along the Great Lakes, could be solved in the same way. It seems paradoxical to say that mixing different forms of orange from half a dozen tropical and subtropical climates of India, Arabia, North Africa, Brazil, Florida, Southern California can produce a plant adapted, say, to the climate of Missouri or Ohio; and yet the case of my early plum, obtained from ancestors with late ripening fruits, suggests that this idea is not at all a chimera.
This work will be greatly simplified, because we now have the orange previously mentioned, which, without special selection for this purpose, is so frost-hardy that it grows much further north of the previous distribution limits of the orange, as, for example, in Philadelphia.
Other subtropical fruit plants
A similar indication can be made for a significant group of other fruit plants that have come to us from tropical and subtropical regions.
Olive, figs, persimmons, guava, avocado, banana, pomegranate, pineapple - this is only a small part of the more familiar representatives of a diverse group of fruit plants that are not related to each other, except that the original habitat of all of them was the tropics and they are mostly found themselves unable to move to the temperate zone.
True, one or two of them showed a tendency to follow the example of the plum, pear and apple tree and try their luck in areas where there is no constant summer, as in their original habitats.
The most notable of these is perhaps the persimmon, which made its way to Japan on one continent and to the south-central regions of the United States on another.
This plant was cultivated with great success in Japan, where the secret was first discovered that when the fruits are placed in an airtight container, their astringent taste disappears. In our country, a discovery was made by Mr. Reading of Fresno that the secret of the Japanese persimmon is the following: you need to pack the fruit in tubs recently freed from sake, or "rice beer."
This is evidently because carbon dioxide, in the absence of oxygen, produces in the fruit just such chemical changes that are necessary to transform the astringent and inedible fruit into a very tasty fruit.
I have grown a huge number of Japanese persimmon seedlings and tried to create new varieties by crossing it with American persimmon, but did not get the effect of this attempt, mainly probably because the American species is so poorly fruiting that I had very little opportunity for more extensive crossbreeding. ...
Now that the good qualities of persimmons are beginning to be more recognized, further research is likely to be done in this direction, and there is every reason to expect that new and significantly better forms of persimmons will be obtained in this way.
If you compare the Japanese-American plum hybrid, which is now grown in my gardens in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, with the best varieties of plums bred thirty years ago, then one can imagine new possibilities from the union of Japanese and American persimmons.
The best of the existing persimmon varieties - Japanese forms - are incomparably superior to American ones and have such fruit qualities that will serve as the basis for obtaining a truly wonderful garden fruit.
Promotion of tropical fruit plants northward
We do not need to go into further details regarding tropical fruit plants, since I stopped at this story rather in order to tell what I have done in the field of creating fruit plants, than to indicate unrealized opportunities.
But I cannot refrain from convincing people whose plots allow the inclusion of delicate fruit plants in experiments to conduct extensive research in this virtually unaffected area.
It should be remembered that all our fruit plants, even the most frost-resistant ones, which now penetrate to the Arctic zone, should have originally appeared from the tropics.
The fact that the plum, pear and apple tree have become hardy enough to withstand winters of near-arctic harshness is in itself a sufficient indication of the adaptability of fruit plants and should be an inspiration to the breeder dealing with such fruit plants that still inhabit the tropical or subtropical climate.
It does not take much prophetic gift to predict the day when most fruit plants, now known only in subtropical zones, will make their way under the influence of the breeder through many degrees of latitude, which now seem to be insurmountable barriers.
Feijoa, or fig guava (Feijoa sellowiana) from Brazil is a vigorous fruiting shrub; Anona (Apopa cherimolia) of the Central American Highlands, together with pineapple and mangosteen, make up a trio of the finest fruits in the world; Australian macadamia (Macadamia ternifolia) is prized for both fruit and nut; Natal plum (Carissa grandiflora) from South Africa with its fragrant flowers and crimson-red fruits and white Sapota (Casimirva edulis) from Mexico with quince-like fruits of extraordinary taste are all tropical and subtropical plants that have come to us in recent years, and whose fruits promise to take their place among the high-value fruits of the garden and market. There are other thermophilic fruit plants that will come to us.
In the meantime, I would like to predict that those fruit plants that have now adapted to habitat in the Gulf region and Mexico and for the distribution of which Southern California is their northern border, within a century, will be adapted to grow and bear fruit abundantly in the Great lakes.
It should be remembered that all our fruit plants,
even the most frost-resistant, which are currently
penetrate to the arctic zone, initially should
were come from the tropics.
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Citrus fruits easily cross and form new hybrids, breeders widely use this property, so today it is difficult to list all the available citrus plant hybrids and their many variations. In addition to the already familiar calamondin and limequat, there are other hybrids of kinkans with citrus fruits and other citrus fruits with each other.
Let's take a look at some types and varieties of unusual citrus fruits that can be purchased in nurseries. A real exotic for your home!
Ichangensis
Citrus ichangensis, Yichang papeda is a rather slow-growing citrus species that has a characteristic lemon flavor foliage and flowers.
- Ichang lemon (also known as shangjuan)
- Kabosu
- Hyuganatsu
Ichanskiy lemon (lat.Cítrus cavaleriéi, formerly Citrus ichangénsis) is an evergreen plant, a species of the genus Citrus. Distributed in China. Is an the most cold-hardy evergreen citrus, can be used as a rootstock... Ichangensis is the most frost-resistant among all Citrus species. Critical temperature (complete death or freezing to the root collar) from -15 to -17 0 С.
Lemon Yichang, according to another classification, is Citrus wilsonii, comes from the hybridization of Citrus ichangensis (from the mountains of southern China, winter hardiness up to -15C) and Citrus maxima (tropical citrus, withstands no more than -3C). Shangjuan is another species of the same Citrus wilsonii, more winter-hardy (up to -13C).
Refers to paped group- citruses, the leaf stalks of which are bordered by very wide wings, are similar to leaf blades. A tree or shrub that grows in nature 10 m in height, with straight thorns on the branches.
The juice is sour and pungent in taste, the pulp is dryish, almost absent. The seeds are available. But the fruit is very fragrant, reminiscent of a grapefruit (up to 10 cm or more). The large fruit tastes like a mixture of lemon and grapefruit, sometimes used as a substitute for them, although the taste of this type of citrus is still very specific.
As a stock it can be a good alternative to deciduous tripoliate. In addition, the plant itself is very beautiful: densely leafy, with abundant flowering, is growing rapidly.
Clemapo Delice
Clemapo delice.
Hybrid of Tangerine x Clementine Commune with re-crossing with Tangerine Avana x Tangelo Mapo.
Early, medium-high grade. The fruits are clearly flattened, larger than regular tangerines (120 g) and usually ripen in October. The flesh tastes great and does not contain seeds, what is more, the rind of this tasty orange fruit is very easy to separate from the flesh.
Mandarin Ortanik
Tangor is a flattened "not-quite-orange", red-orange color, with a thick skin, the result of a cross between a tangerine and a sweet orange.
Tangerine ripens earlier than mandarin, and its citrus aroma is weaker than that of mandarin.
Ortanique - Probably a natural tangor found in Jamaica in the 1920s. Since tangerine and orange trees grew nearby, they decided that this was a hybrid of them. The name is composed of several words: or (ange) tan (gerine) (un) ique (orange, tangerine, unique).
Its other names are tambor, mandor, mandora.
The fruits are medium to large in size, the peel is slightly rough, orange in color, difficult to peel, with seeds. Caliber (54-74 mm). 
Ortanik tangerines are the second largest and most important tangerine in Greece. Unlike Clementine, Ortanik is harvested without leaves. Thanks to their tight-fitting skin, Ortanic tangerines are well protected from damage.
Today, Moroccan tangerines of the Ortanik variety can be purchased in Russian stores. The variety is quite large. The fruits are very juicy, the taste is sweet-sour, very pleasant.
Oranjequat Nippon
Oranjekat nippon (Nippon Orangequat) - a rare and rarely found interesting citrus. C. unshu x F. margarita. Oranjekvat (mandarinquat). Its origin is tangerine, not orange.
Oranjequat is a citrus, a hybrid of the unshiu mandarin and the Hawaiian variety of kumquat ("Meiwa kumquat"), created by the American Eugene May, introduced into the culture in 1932.
Fruiting is less abundant than mandarin, but more abundant than kumquat. Fruits are orange, rounded, larger than a kumquat. The rind is thick and sweet. The juice is bitter, but as the fruit ripens, the pulp becomes sweeter. The fruits ripen relatively quickly and stay on the tree for several months. From x they are eaten whole, with the peel, like kumquats: the fruits are very tasty.
The species is frost-resistant, can withstand temperatures down to -12 ° C.
It is attractive decorative tree, grows slowly, small in size, convenient for keeping at home, in indoor conditions.
Citrus Sudachi
Sudachi is a frost-hardy sour citrus that can withstand temperatures as low as -15 C. Sudachi ichandrin (papeda hybrid). Citrus sudachi Hort. ex Shirai. Citrus ichangensis X C. reticulata var. austere.
Considered a hybrid of papeda and mandarin, it is traditionally grown in Tokushima, Japan, on the island of Shikoku. Fruit can be picked when young, then Sudachi has a distinctive flavor that differs from Yuzu. Young fruits are used for cooking, green fruits are often included in vinegar or seasonings, are suitable as additives to many various dishes, especially fish. Sudachi dishes are usually cut into thin slices to decorate the main course. The aroma is used to flavor non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. The fruits are in great demand.
The Sudachi fruit is significantly smaller than that of Yuzu, with an average fruit size of 3.8 cm wide and 3.4 cm high, average weight one fruit 27.2 grams. There are few seeds, the average juice content is 34.4%, which is higher than Yuzu, so Sudachi is mainly used for juicing. Unripe pulp is light green to green-yellow in ripe fruit. Sudachi is slightly more acidic than Yuzu, with an average of 5% citric acid.
Sudachi trees are generally moderately vigorous creeping trees, small to medium-sized trees, with spines up to 5 mm in each leaf axill. Leaves are elliptical, with a small winged petiole.
Possesses high resistance to citrus weevils. Growth is slow. Trees live a long time. The tree produces an extremely high yield.
According to Riverside University in California, the species may be derived from a hybridization of citrus papeda and mandarin C. reticulata.
The first mention of Sudachi is in the 1708 book Kaibara Atsunobu.
The fruit is spherical, lumpy, about 4 cm in diameter, weighing about 30 g, usually harvested green, starting from August 15 to the end of September, later the fruit turns yellow and becomes sweet.
The essential oil contains special ingredients including sudachiines. The quality of sudachi fruit is the subject of publications in Japanese and Korean sources: it is good for the skin, increases triglyceride levels, fights obesity, it is an anti-oxidative and diabetic juice, improves glucose and lipid metabolism, an excellent anti-inflammatory agent, including in inflammatory processes in bone tissue. A Tokushima University Graduate School publication shows that mice fed a diet of this citrus supplemented with 1% zest powder had a noticeable slimming effect.
In Japan, mass production began in 1956. There is micro-manufacturing in California and Portugal.
The sugar level in the juice is higher than that of the lemon, the sugar / acid ratio is more than 5, the usual quality level for this type of fruit. The taste is typified less tangerine than Yuzu, less resinous than Kabosu, it evokes a pleasant sensation of combination of sweetness and acidity, this is a real miracle that is highly appreciated with grilled dishes (fish, mushrooms ...), added to soy sauce and drinks (alcoholic drinks, beer, soft drinks). Grated zest is also used.
Tangelo Seminole
Seminole tangelo. Citrus reticulata x C. paradisi. Citrus tangelo J.W. Ingram & H.E. Moore.
Seminole is a citrus with large fruits (like grapefruit) with a red-orange peel. It is very juicy, has a rich sweet taste with hints of grapefruit, tart, a bit like tangerine, but with a different shade. Trees of the variety require pruning.
Tangerine is a type of mandarins native to Morocco, Sicily, China and the United States. Tangerine is not a botanical term. As a rule, tangerines are called red-orange sweet bright tangerines with easily peeling thin skin. And hybrids of tangerines with other citrus fruits are called tangelo... The first tangelos were obtained in 1897 in Florida.
Known varieties of tangelo: Curly, or Sunrise Tangelo (K-Early, Sunrise Tangelo), Tangelo Seminole (Seminole tangelo).
Lemon Chimera Aranziata
Lemon chimera "Aranziata". C. limon "Chimera aranciata".
Chimera is an organism consisting of genetically dissimilar cells, and this lemon is called a chimera for good reason. On one plant, you can see shoots and fruits of both original forms and hybrid, diverse, with a mixture of traits. Therefore, the shape and taste of the fruits of the chimera are different (oval and pear-shaped). It looks very impressive!
The oval-shaped fruits that grow on the chimera are sour, juicy, aromatic, slightly reminiscent of Meyer lemon in taste. Pear-shaped fruits - medium acid, juicy. Chimeric "lemon" - a fruit with a bright yellow skin, pale orange pulp, which looks more like an orange than a lemon. The pulp is not entirely sweet, but it is far from the acidity of lemon. Another fruit is a pale yellow, but certainly more orange tinge, lemon-scented pulp. In general, it is incredibly interesting: what will grow and how it will be to your taste!
Thomasville
Citranzhekvat "Thomasville". Citrangequat "Tomasville".
This hybrid was created at the beginning of the 20th century. First bore fruit in Thomasville, Georgia (Georgia), now it is called that. Fruits are medium in size, elongated or oval in shape, orange to orange-yellow in color. The taste is sour, there are seeds, there are few of them.
The tree is quite vigorous, with thorns, grows upright. Leaves are variable in shape, often trifoliate. The fruits are large, sour, tasty (when fully ripe), therefore the variety is the most common variety of citranquats.
Wakiva (Wikiwa)
Wekiwa tangelo. Citrus × tangelo.
Fruits are medium-small, spherical, obovate or pear-shaped; pale yellow color; there are relatively few seeds. The rind is of medium thickness, smooth. The pulp is tender, juicy; the taste is sweet. Under favorable conditions, the rind is pink-red and the flesh is amber-pink.
The tree grows slowly, but at the same time it is productive; leaves are small, rounded-oval.
It is a hybrid of grapefruit and Sampson's tangerine and hence the species is tangelo. It is not commercially significant, but is of interest for its novelty and pinkish rind.
The fruit is juicy and sweet with a hint of grapefruit.
They are bonsai, grow well in pots, can be kept small, compact, with reasonable pruning. The fruits ripen in January.
Unlike other tangelos, Wikiwa fruit resembles pink grapefruit, but tastes more like tangerine.
Flying dragon
Citrus Poncirus Trifoliata Flying Dragon. Flying Dragon. Latin name: Pontzirius monstrosa tripolyata.
The unique exotic citrus Flying Dragon is a deciduous, very dwarf tree with an attractive shape, twisted branches and hooked thorns.
The flying dragon, also known as the Japanese bitter orange, is the hardiest close relative of citrus fruits. Native to China and Korea, it is a deciduous shrub with twisted green twigs and menacing crooked thorns. The green thorny lace of the branches resembles the shadows and silhouettes of flying dragons.
Flying Dragon fruit is yellow, about 5 cm in diameter, the juice is similar to lemon. In China, the Flying Dragon is used as a compact, impassable hedge. The variety is unpretentious.
Suitable as a dwarf rootstock for citrus fruits, causes very early flowering and fruiting. Trees grown on the Flying Dragon rarely exceed 1.5 meters in height and often bear fruit as early as the year of sowing.
The fruits of this species ripen in late autumn.
Flying dragon in nature grows up to 2 meters in height, a plant with a moderate growth rate. Trees need very little pruning compared to others fruit trees... Needs a sufficiently sunny location, fertile, well-drained acidic soil, regular deep watering is recommended. The variety is frost hardy and will survive low temperatures down to -20C. By spring, fragrant white flowers with five petals adorn the bare stems. In summer, green fruits appear among the glossy green leaves. Each leaf consists of three oval leaves, therefore it is called trifoliate. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow, and around this time the fruits ripen with a yellow-gold color. The fruit can remain on the tree during the winter.
Takle
Tacle (Citrus sinensis x Citrus clementina).
While Sicily was supplying the world with its citrus fruits, its most valuable treasure was hidden in the research center of Acireale for citrus and Mediterranean crops: Tacle, a new kind of citrus that was created about over ten years ago.
The Takle fruit looks like a large tangerine or a slightly crushed orange and is actually a cross between an orange and a clementine. To be precise, this hybrid is derived from the Montreal variety Clementine (which is already a hybrid in itself) and the Tarocco orange.
Tacle has a sweet taste, the flesh is firm and very juicy, without seeds. Shiny, bright orange peel. It is ideal for fresh consumption and juicing.
A fragrant citrus fruit, excellent thirst quencher, speckled with reddish tints due to the characteristic pigmentation of anthocyanins. The fruit weighing an average of about 150 g, has a flattened shape. Takle fruits are harvested from late December to late January, they have a special taste, similar to a mixture of clementine and Sicilian orange.
Due to its characteristic appearance and sweetness, Tacle stands out as a citrus fruit with a pleasant aroma and taste and valuable organoleptic characteristics, rich in vitamins, pulp and low in fat. Tasty and healthy!
Pomum Adamo
Pomum Adami Citrus aurata Risso. Adam "s apple, d" Adam, du Paradis, Pomme d "Adam, Pomme du Paradis, Pomo d" Adamo. Adam's apple. Italian variety.
Pomum Adami is a citrus with huge fruits. For a long time it was called Pomm ď Adam ("Adam's apple"). According to Gallesio (1811) it belongs to the Lumia group of hybrids. It could be a cross between an orange tree and a lemon cedrato. Marco Polo found this variety in Persia (now Iran) in 1270, and the Arabs brought it to Palestine in the 12th century. He was also mentioned in The History of Jerusalem by the French author Jacques de Vitry in the early 13th century. The book claims that de Vitry saw him in Palestine during the Crusades and Holy War. This variety was also later described by other famous botanists.
Molecular analysis at a plant by Italian researchers suggests that the original mother plants are pompelmus, citron and lemon.
The tree grows to be of medium height and fairly wide, has a spherical crown with typically thornless branches or, in some cases, rarely has several thorns on the branches. Large, spear-shaped leaves are oval, sometimes with slightly serrated edges. The flowers are large, with a very attractive aroma, creamy white with a tinge of purple. They usually grow separately, but almost exclusively in the racemes at the tips of young shoots.
Globular fruits are rather large, with or without a tubercle, sometimes with a narrow neck. The peel is light lemon-yellow, bitter. The pulp is practically inedible, very sour.
Citrangeremo
Microcitrus Citrangeremo. 
Australian microcytrus.
This plant is actively growing, the seedlings can be used as a rootstock. The plant is compact, bushy well.
Citrangeremo is a natural hybrid of Citrange x Eremocitrus glauca. This variety was brought to Europe from Germany. The leaf is small, oblong, reminiscent of a willow leaf.
Australian variety, must withstand heat and dry air well, compact, great for indoor growing.
Glauka x shekvasha
Microcytrus Glauka X Shekvasha. C. Glauca x Shekvasha. 
A hybrid of Australian desert lime and tangerine.
Glauka easily form hybrids, this is one of them. Shekwasha is a mandarin (Shekwasha, Citrus depressa Hayata, Citrus pectinifera Tanaka).
It grows well, the crown is dense. The tree is very decorative.
The tree is vigorous, with a rounded crown. The fruits are very small, orange in color, flattened, with a very thin and aromatic peel. The pulp is soft, slightly viscous, with a very pleasant taste.
Eremeorange
Natural hybrid of C. glauca (Australian desert lime) x C. sinensis (orange). Eremoorange. 
A vigorous tree with good growth. Leaves like microcitruses, from orange - larger size of leaf blades. Saplings of this variety grow quickly, have deep taproots.
Fruits are small (2-4.5 cm in diameter), drop-shaped, elongated, the peel is bright yellow.
In the area of Marseille, Eremorange can withstand temperatures up to minus 15 degrees in the open field.
The fruit has a pungent sour taste, with a strong tangerine aroma and hints of orange. Suitable for making marmalade of the highest quality.
Kumquat Triploid Reale
Kumquat Reale (Fortunella Reale ISA). Fortunella Reale (Fortunella Reale Kumquat, Kumquat Reale ISA, triploid reale). This is a triple hybrid (triploid): the clementine "Monreal" is crossed with the kumquat Fortunella Hindsii, and then the resulting hybrid is crossed again with the kumquat Fortunella Hindsii, so 4x.
ISA - Istituto Sperimentale per l "Agrumicoltura, an institute in Sicily dedicated to the development of new varieties of citrus fruits.
Fruits of excellent dessert taste.
This kumquat is specially bred in order to obtain outstanding decorative qualities of the plant, continuous flowering and the ability to bear fruit already in the first year of life. An ideal variety for growing at home, in an apartment.
The grafted plants bloom in the first year of life. The leaves are similar to those of the kumquat, the crown is compact, the thorns are short and thin. Fruits are small, weighing no more than 15 grams, oval, yellow, long stays on the tree after ripening.
High-yielding variety, remontant. Fruits vary slightly in size and shape. 
The taste of the fruit is tangerine-kumquat, sweet peel and pleasant sweet and sour pulp. The pulp is sour, juicy; the peel is tasteful of sweet tangerine, rich, aromatic, so the fruit is eaten with the peel. Seeds are found, but not in all fruits.
Montreal got a good taste from Clementine, and Hindsii from kumquat - the ability to bloom profusely at all times.
Reale has outstanding decorative qualities: it blooms continuously. The tree contains ripe fruits, ovaries and flowers at the same time. The shape of the crown is a bit like a Meyer lemon.
The variety is unpretentious, undemanding to keeping conditions (even suitable for beginners), very prolific, highly decorative, besides with very tasty fruits. Highly recommended as a pot plant for indoor keeping.
The first two hundred small fruit-bearing citrus trees in pots were brought to Russia in 1708 at the direction of Peter I by Admiral Apraksin. At first, privileged people grew them in their greenhouses and greenhouses. An exception is still the city of Pavlovo, Nizhny Novgorod region, where window citrus growing has become a hobby of almost all local residents (see "Science and Life" No.). Now, after 300 years, many domestic and foreign companies are engaged in the cultivation of exotic seedlings, and home citrus growing attracts more and more plant lovers. But only those who rely on the experience of previous generations of citrus growers can count on luck.
Science and Life // Illustrations
The main advantage of the Meyer lemon tree is its short stature. Accordingly, the leaves and fruits are medium-sized, with a thin skin. This variety blooms and bears fruit very abundantly.
With sufficient light on the windowsill, you can grow tangerines, which are not inferior to the southern ones. They are just as sweet, large and even have a more tender flesh. In the photo: tangerines of the dwarf variety Miagawa-Vase. Plant height rarely exceeds 50 cm.
Fruiting from the age of three, the most common mandarin variety - Unshiu broad-leaved. Fruits without seeds, with a smooth thin skin.
One of the most unpretentious varieties lemon - Panderosa. The tree is medium-sized, with a spreading crown. The fruits are large.
The fruits of the Novogruzinsky lemon are very fragrant - they are elongated-oval in shape, with a pointed tip.
Citrus fruits do not ripen at the same time even on one branch.
In the room, oranges feel pretty good. The trees look very decorative: a slender crown, dark green dense foliage and quite bright fruits.
One of the largest citrus fruits is grapefruit. The plants are tall, therefore, when cultivated on the window, they need to be heavily cut annually.
Since the 18th century, the myrtle-leaved orange, or sour orange, has been cultivated in Russia.
Closed-root citrus seedlings.
Formation of the crown of vigorous varieties of orange, grapefruit, lemon or tangerine.
With a lack of nitrogen, the leaves turn yellow, especially the lower ones and at the base of the shoots.
With poor nutrition, the dark green leaves of any citrus fruit become variegated.
Citrus buds appear at any time of the year, but most of them occur in February-April and September-October.
Science and Life // Illustrations
Science and Life // Illustrations
Science and Life // Illustrations
Science and Life // Illustrations
I warn you in advance: not everyone should try to grow lemons and other citrus fruits in an apartment. Home citrus growing is the lot of passionate, dreamy and at the same time thoughtful, serious people who are able for many years, sparing no effort and time, to learn the many "secrets" of this difficult occupation, step by step comprehending its wisdom.
And all for what? In any case, not for the sake of a "real" harvest. And it's not even a matter of satisfying one's own ambitions, but rather something completely different - a kind of "sculpting" with my own hands a miracle of nature itself - a lemon country on a tiny windowsill.
This is not an exaggeration. Indeed, for any northerner, it is an evergreen orange or lemon tree that blooms tirelessly, with golden fruits - a "living" symbol of southern countries with an eternal summer, where there is no gray-leaden low-falling sky, short light days and other our mood and well-being.
The man-made oasis seems to help, together with the plants, to move into the fairy tale of the subtropics.
But here's another paradox: not a single company that imports citrus fruits includes even a short growing instruction for them. As a result, the life expectancy of purchased seedlings, sometimes expensive, is reduced to several weeks, and luxurious southerners turn into miserable scum.
V flower shops citrus fruits are usually sold in the late autumn and winter months, when all their types and varieties look equally festive, especially since they are grown practically in ideal conditions greenhouses and greenhouses under the supervision of specialists.
Sometimes it does not even occur to buyers that a seedling bought for a lot of money in conditions an ordinary apartment without exaggeration to experience shock and stress. Whether all this plant will survive depends not only on our ability to create the necessary conditions for it, but also on the life potential of a particular plant.
Forty years of personal experience of growing such sissies and information from amateurs that I receive after the publication of my books about these plants, made it possible to conclude that different species and varieties in the same room conditions do not behave the same way: some immediately die, others get sick , others more or less adapt to life in any apartment.
Over time, I made a kind of "rating" different types citrus hardiness (high to low). And what is curious: practically this "rating" coincided with that which was published more than 100 years ago by Professor N. N. Shavrov in the book "Kadochnaya and hothouse culture". So, the most unpretentious are the oranges (bigaradia) and calamandins, and the "fastidious" and "capricious" are the kinkans. Between them, in decreasing degree of endurance, are tangerines, oranges, citrons, lemons, grapefruits.
From abroad, mainly kinkans, tangerines, oranges are imported to us; Their presentation is impeccable, but, as a rule, the type of plant is not indicated. Lemons of different ages are mostly Russian, from domestic greenhouse farms.
SELECTION OF VARIETIES
The most popular citrus fruits are lemons. Although this species takes the place of the "average" in the "rating", existing varieties differ from each other. In terms of endurance, I rank them in the following sequence: Pavlovsky, Panderoza, Kursky, Meyer, Novogruzinsky, then all the others (more than 100 varieties are known in total).
Pavlovsky... The result of almost a century and a half of folk selection (in the 60s of the XIX century, this lemon was brought from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey). Seedlings of Pavlovsky lemon easily adapt to indoor conditions. It blooms at least twice, or even three to four times a year. Plants are low and medium-sized (up to 1 m), practically do not require pruning and crown formation. They begin bearing fruit in the third year. At good care give 10-30 rather large (up to 200 g) fruits per tree.
Panderosa... Grows well on any windows without additional lighting. Therefore, it is considered one of the most unpretentious varieties. The tree is low and medium-sized, less than 1 m, with a spreading crown, short, thick shoots. The fruits are large (up to 50-100 g). It blooms profusely, therefore, in order to avoid depletion of the plant, most of the buds have to be removed. Begins fruiting in the second year of life. The yield is high, up to 10 lemons per tree, but the fruits have their drawbacks: they are thick-skinned, not acidic enough and a little dry.
Kursk... Bred in Kursk by an amateur citrus grower A. A. Fomenko more than half a century ago. Unpretentious, although with insufficient light in winter it loses a lot of leaves. Bears fruit in the third year of life. On a glassed-in balcony, it produces more than 30 high-quality fruits from a tree. The main disadvantage of the variety is its tallness, therefore, a strong shortening of branches is required annually.
Novogruzinsky... The bright golden fruits of this variety are very elegant. However, it also has two disadvantages. Firstly, relatively late fruiting - only in the fourth or fifth year of life. And secondly, tallness (up to 1.5 m and more) and large needles.
Productivity - up to 20-30 fruits per plant.
Meyer... The main advantage of this variety is its short stature (0.5-1 m). It starts bearing fruit in the second year of life, and sometimes even earlier. It blooms and bears fruit very abundantly, the fruits are medium-sized, sweet and sour. This variety also has disadvantages. Often, a plant throws out only one bud, forgetting about the leaves, and then it simply has nothing to assimilate the light with. To save the tree, you have to remove most of the buds. Another minus - painful reaction plants for lack of light during the winter months.
Much better grade Meyer feels at home in our apartments when vaccinated on homegrown citrus seedlings. As a result, the trees develop well and bear fruit abundantly: up to 20 fruits each. The fruits are thin-skinned, juicy and less acidic than other varieties.
As for other types of citrus fruits, tangerines and citrons are more elegant than other types. Mandarin trees are strewn with brightly colored, fragrant, sweet fruits. Citrons are distinguished by their dark, lush foliage and beautiful, lumpy yellow fruits.
It is convenient to grow tangerines in small windows, since many of their varieties, especially dwarf ones, are rarely more than a meter high. Citrons after 10 years of growth are slightly higher.
Grapefruits are less suitable for windowsills - due to their tallness: they often reach 1.5 m and more. However, they can be successfully grown in spacious areas.
Calamandins and oranges are very decorative, they do not take up much space and are unpretentious. However, they have fruits of mediocre taste.
Kinkans (their other name is kumquats) are much tastier, their fruits are eaten along with the piercingly fragrant skin. Kinkan trees are rather stunted, but capricious and require growing conditions close to ideal, which is easier to create on the balcony and in the loggia.
Fruit-bearing trees are very effective! But I do not advise you to be tempted by such plants when buying: they rarely get used to indoor conditions, they often get sick and die. It is much more practical to buy citrus fruits "youngsters", they adapt much easier and faster to life on the windowsill.
OUR WINDOWSILL IS NOT A SUBTROPIC BUT ...
If you purchased and put a citrus tree on the window, try to create conditions for it that at least remotely resembled the usual natural element - the subtropics. And initially room conditions, to put it mildly, are strikingly different from them.
In the homeland of citrus fruits - in Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean countries - there is a lot of light (daylight hours are equal to night, that is, 12 hours), high humidity air (on average up to 95%) and a favorable temperature: from spring to autumn it is hot, and in winter it is cool (5-10 o C heat).
Of the three listed factors, it is more or less achievable in a room, oddly enough, only the last one. The microclimate indicators of our windowsill vaguely resemble ... India and Italy, although, as a rule, in the winter months in our apartment it is warmer than it should be, and in the summer months it is a little cooler.
But the other two living conditions for these sissies are very difficult to provide.
In December-January at the latitude of Moscow, no more than 3-5 fine sunny days are usually issued, and the duration of daily illumination by the end of the year drops to 7 hours instead of the required 12. Moreover, due to frequent cloudiness, a dim beam of light is simply not able to start the "engine "photosynthesis. And from November to mid-March, citrus fruits are doomed to long-term, hard-to-bear fasting.
After all, the main nutrition required every minute is not contained at all in certain fertilizers, but in the surrounding air - this is carbon dioxide, which is converted by leaves into organic compounds only under the influence of a powerful light source - the sun!
Fasting increases threefold due to low air humidity (25% instead of 95%). And as a consequence of this, the entrance "gates" - the stomata for carbon dioxide - are slammed on the leaves, saving the life-giving moisture of tissues from drying out.
It is clear that in order to save the tree, it is important to adjust two indicators of the habitat, namely: daily in autumn and winter, to extend the lighting up to 12 hours at the expense of bright lamps and in various clever ways to increase the air humidity to at least 50-60% (which, by the way, is important and to improve our well-being!).
Both goals are easily achievable, and in several ways. Ordinary household incandescent bulbs are categorically not suitable as an artificial "sun" (not the same spectrum of light and too much heat). On the other hand, fluorescent fluorescent lamps of daylight suspended directly above the crown of plants are quite suitable (ideally, two lamps of 80 watts each), and even more effective are sodium lamps high pressure with a mirror reflector produced by domestic manufacturers (one 70-watt lamp is enough).
As for increasing the humidity of the air, for this they usually put saucers filled with water on the windowsill, and also often spray the plants from a spray bottle. All this helps, but not enough. Much better to hang on the battery central heating a large wet towel, placing a wide basin at the bottom of the floor. And even more efficiently humidify the air in the room with electric humidifiers of various systems that are sold in stores.
FIRST SLOPES
The best place for citrus fruits is the lightest window sill, and even better - a glazed loggia with double frames and insulated. Immediately after the acquisition, the tree is transplanted (more precisely, "transferred" with the preservation of the old earthen coma) into a new pot, more conveniently - into a plastic one, with a diameter and height of 4-7 cm larger than the previous one. They do this very carefully, trying not to damage a single root. Be sure to arrange drainage at the bottom of the tank in the form of a two-centimeter layer of fine expanded clay, or better - sphagnum marsh moss; ground mix made up of equal shares leaf land(completely rotted leaves collected under old maples and lindens), sod (it is obtained by simply shaking off the earth layers cut in a meadow or along the banks of a river, lake, pond) and compost sifted through a metal mesh with 1 cm cells. citrus so-called special earthy mixtures "Lemon", "Orange", "For citrus fruits", since they consist exclusively of peat with the addition of mineral fertilizers. Watering trees in winter time usually every other day with boiled, settled water (in such water, at least 50-60% of potassium and magnesium salts are precipitated, which alkalize the soil), and ideally with water passed through a household filter.
FEEDING AND PEST PROTECTION
In the future, citrus fruits require annual transplantation into loose fertile soil and frequent (every decade) fertilizing watering from the end of February to August. You can limit yourself to feeding with a weak aqueous solution (1:10) of fermented nettle, dandelion, comfrey and other weeds; they are infused for a week in a glass jar or closed plastic bucket in a 1: 1 ratio. As a rule, such dressings are combined with completely soluble complex mineral fertilizers - Sudarushka, Semitsvetik, Kemira-Lux.
Much more worries and troubles are caused by the troubles associated with the health of homemade citrus fruits, since they are a favorite delicacy for many pests. Beckon to them, like a magnet, aphids, whiteflies, spider mites and false shield insects (the latter are especially dangerous and difficult to eradicate).
Pest attacks are one of the main causes of citrus death. The most effective means protection in emergency cases - drugs Aktara and Actellik. I advise you not to spray the plants, but completely immerse their crown in a container with an insecticide solution. The biological preparation Fitovern is also suitable (2 tsp per 1 liter of water), but this preparation does not work at temperatures of +17 ° C and below. But the best prevention is regular (every two to three months) treatment with the drug New FAS of increased concentration (3-4 tablets per bucket of water).
So, the key to the successful cultivation of citrus plants is the creation of favorable conditions in the apartment, and care that meets their needs, and the ability to defeat insect pests. Only then citrus trees bring you joy.
Detailed description illustrations
Formation of the crown of vigorous varieties of orange, grapefruit, lemon or tangerine. Citrus fruits are pruned in February. On young seedlings, the tip of the only growing shoot is shortened in order to quickly cause its branching, the appearance of branches of the 1st order. They are also pruned to obtain 2nd order shoots. This operation is repeated until fruiting branches of the 4-5th order grow. In the future, pinching stronger branches, cause the growth of weak shoots, thereby forming a lush and beautiful crown. In the figure: a - pinching of a branch of the 0-th order; b - pinching of branches of the 1st order; c - pinching of branches of the 2nd to 4th order.
Citrus buds appear at any time of the year, but most of them occur in February-April and September-October. For more than a month they have been developing, increasing in size. When at least one bud opens, a delicate aroma, somewhat reminiscent of the scent of jasmine, fills the whole house. As a rule, each flower has five dense petals, bright yellow fluffy stamens and a pistil towering above them with a stigma at the end. The flowers of many citrus fruits are self-pollinating, but the desired sweetish aroma attracts bees, which fly into the apartment through the window.
Of all the thermophilic citrus fruits, the tangerine is the most cold-resistant. Therefore, it grows in open ground only in the southern regions of Russia, and in all the rest it is successfully grown today in indoor conditions.
Rejuvenating apples
Ancient Greek legends and Russian fairy tales tell of golden rejuvenating apples growing at the end of the world. For the sake of these apples, all well-known heroes performed feats.The most difficult twelfth feat to accomplish (according to some sources, it was the eleventh feat) was performed by the son of the chief of the Olympian gods Zeus, the mighty Hercules. Having passed Libya, Egypt, he still got to the end of the world and got 3 apples. True, in order to take possession of them, Hercules had to use not only his valor, but also cunning. So believe after that to adults who tell children that trick is unworthy of a man quality. Although Hercules was only half human and half god, who was allowed everything.
In Russian fairy tales, as a rule, the hero turned out to be the most innocent youngest son, who was not distinguished by either strength or cunning. It was precisely the absence of the last two qualities that he was able to win over anyone he met, including the decrepit Baba Yaga and Koshchei, who was light on his feet due to his insignificant body weight, dried up by immortality. All these dark personalities willingly helped Ivanushka to emerge as a hero, against the background of greedy, insidious and cunning brothers. Ivanushka managed to get rejuvenating apples growing all on the same end of the world.
Since apples were not a miracle for Europeans and Russians, golden fruits were understood as rejuvenating apples. citrus trees, including tangerines, which grew by the standards of that time "at the end of the world." This is today, if the flight to the “end of the world” has not been canceled, there are 3-7 hours of flight before it.
Gift for Christmas
The snow-white flowering of mandarin occurs in March, filling the garden with a pleasant persistent aroma. Only by December its amazing fruits ripen, which differ from other citrus fruits in a number of qualities pleasant for humans.
Unlike lemons and oranges, the peel of which is not so easy to separate from the juicy pulp, and therefore sometimes it is necessary to cut them into slices together with the leathery peel, the peel of tangerines is easily separated from the juicy pulp, which easily disintegrates into separate slices, protected by a thin translucent film. It is probably still easy to peel some types of grapefruit.
The pulp of the tangerine fruit is sweet, not sweet and sour, like an orange, or sour, like a lemon. Therefore, tangerines are equally appetizing for people of all ages.
And by the aroma emanating from both flowers and ripe fruits, no citrus can be compared with tangerine.
It seems that, creating the Mandarin tree, the Christian three-faced god made a gift to Mankind for the birthday of his only son, so that, celebrating this significant day for believers every year, they would enjoy the fragrant tasty fruit.
For most Russians, separated from religion, the scent of tangerine is strongly associated with the carefree New Year's holidays and an elegant Christmas tree sparkling with colorful lights.
Tangerine on the windowsill
Bred miniature tangerine trees, which are enough flower pot to delight a person with abundant flowering and fruiting. Moreover, the flowers, and behind them the fruits, do not wait for March or December, but appear on the tree all year round.
Of course, their fruits cannot be compared either in size or in taste with tangerines grown in the open spaces, but the tangerine aroma that fills the apartment is the same.
This means that their peel can be used against moths, ants, which do not like the aroma of citrus plants.
Or, by drying the peel and turning it into an orange powder, you can use it to decorate culinary delights, delighting households with delicious yummy.
