The mandarin has also been hybridized with other citrus species, such as the desert lime and the kumquat.

With the citron and pomelo, it is the ancestor of the most commercially important hybrids (such as sweet and sour oranges, grapefruit, and many lemons and limes). Īccording to genetic studies, the mandarin was one of the original citrus species through breeding or natural hybridization, it is the ancestor of many hybrid citrus cultivars. It can be grown in tropical and subtropical areas. The mandarin is tender and is damaged easily by cold. Hybrids usually have these traits to a lesser degree. The peel is thin, loose, with little white mesocarp, so they are usually easier to peel and to split into segments. A ripe mandarin is firm to slightly soft, heavy for its size, and pebbly-skinned. The taste is considered sweeter and stronger than the common orange. Mandarins are smaller and oblate, unlike the spherical common oranges (which are a mandarin– pomelo hybrid). Tangerines are a group of orange-coloured citrus fruit consisting of hybrids of mandarin orange with some pomelo contribution. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. The mandarin orange ( Citrus reticulata), also known as mandarin or mandarine, is a small citrus tree fruit.

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