Unlike pome fruit, such as the apple, the citrus fruit is derived from a superior ovary, an ovary completely separate from the calyx. Fellers, in Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition (Second Edition), 2003 Anatomy and VarietiesĪ citrus fruit is botanically classified as a type of berry called a hesperidium that has a thick, leathery rind, with numerous oil glands, and a large flesh portion composed of several wedge-shaped sections. Nowadays, due to its wide cultivation for so long, the truly wild type of orange species is no longer known. In America the orange culture was spread by the missionaries during the eighteenth century from Florida to Arizona and California, which are the main orange cultivation areas of Northern America ( Webber, 1967). In America, oranges were introduced during the middle of the sixteenth century after being highly valued by the Europeans ( Webber, 1967). Perhaps the Roman conquests, the Arab trade routes, the expansion of Mohammedanism around the Mediterranean Sea, and the Crusades were the key events that contributed most to the expansion of orange culture in these areas ( Webber, 1967). By the beginning of the sixteenth century, the sweet orange culture had been well established and had great commercial importance in southern Europe.
One reference on a letter sent by the king of France Louis XI to the governor of the province of Languedoc on June 29, 1483, leaves the impression that the culture of oranges was known to southern Europe at that time ( Webber, 1967). Orange culture was thus spread from China to the east coast of Africa and later to Europe, soon after the Christian era had begun, presumably in Italy. Oranges were introduced to southern Europe by the Portuguese explorers following the steps of Vasco de Gama’s expedition to the East after discovering the direct sea route around the Cape of Good Hope ( Webber, 1967). Many centuries later, the rest of the citrus species became known to the West.
The first citrus species known to European civilization was citron, as it is mentioned by Theophrastus at about 310 BC ( Webber, 1967). The acquisition of these “Golden apples” were the eleventh labor of Hercules and are now believed to have been oranges.īesides the Greek myth, the various species of the genus Citrus are believed to originate from the tropical and subtropical regions of Southeast Asia ( Webber, 1967). Roussos, in Nutritional Composition of Fruit Cultivars, 2016 IntroductionĬitrus fruit is basically a modified berry that is called hesperidium, based on the Greek myth of the garden of Hesperides, where the “Golden apples” were growing under the supervision of the nymphs called the Hesperides. The fruit flavors and essential oils are diverse both qualitatively and quantitatively. latifolia) are seedless, while grapefruit and pomelo have 30–50 seeds. The size and shape of the seeds are also variable among species. The fruit pulp color depends on the presence or absence and abundance of carotenoids and anthocyanins in the pulp, and it can be pale, yellow, orange, or red. Albedo forms the major portion of the citron fruits, while it is absent in kumquats and poorly developed in mandarins. The fruits usually have 8–16 segments with or without seeds. The fruit's shape also varies: fruits are oblate in tangerines, mandarins, and grapefruits, spherical or oval in sweet oranges, oblong in lemons ( C. The fruit diameter ranges from a few centimeters in Mandarins to more than 25 cm for some pomelos ( C. The pomological and organoleptic attributes of citrus fruits are quite diverse. The seeds (ovules) are also attached to segment walls by means of axial placentation. Each juice sac also has a very minute oil gland at the center. A thin wall called the carpellary septum surrounds the segments.
In the segments, juice is contained in closely packed, club-shaped multicellular sacs, also called juice vesicles, which completely fill the segments. Each segment is surrounded by a continuous endocarp membrane. The edible pulp of a mature citrus fruit is divided into segments with or without seeds or juice sacs by a thick film or endocarp surrounding the soft central axis.
#Hesperides cannabis skin#
Above the epicarp is a multilayered protective skin or cuticle. The flavedo consists of the epicarp proper, hypodermis, outer mesocarp, and oil glands. The rind or peel of citrus fruits is divided into an exocarp or flavedo, which is the outer, colored part, and the mesocarp or albedo, which is the inner colorless (white) or sometimes tinted part. Citrus fruits are characterized by the presence of an outer rind or skin. The fruit consists of 8–16 carpels that form the core of the fruit or segments that contain the seeds and juice. Hesperidium is a modified berry resulting from a single ovary.
Paliyath, in Encyclopedia of Food and Health, 2016 Fruit MorphologyĬitrus fruits are classified as a hesperidium.
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