Citrus
Citrus sp.
Rue family (Rutaceae)
With this you would be considered one of the elite
Since the 17th century citrus trees have been popular in Europe, collections were built up in palaces and on country estates. The owner of a citrus collection was considered to be one of the happy few! The disadvantage of citrus trees is that they are not hardy and should therefore be treated as a container plant. For this reason, in the past, specially designated overwintering areas, called orangeries after the orange citrus, were built.
In the Netherlands such collections can be found at Het Loo Palace and on the Twickel Estate, which jointly hold the National Plant Collection of citruses. Here a large number of species of historical value are accommodated. Citrus has fragrant flowers, which on fertilisation develop into oranges, tangerines and lemons.
The fruits of the old collection are not those with which we are familiar today: the peel is often thick, the flesh is on the dry side and has a distinctly sour or bitter taste.
Themes
The genus is commercially important as many species are cultivated for their fruit, which is eaten fresh, pressed for juice, or preserved in marmalades and pickles.
Citrus fruits are notable for their fragrance, partly due to the flavonoids and limonoids (which in turn are terpenes) contained in the rind.
They are good sources of vitamin C and flavonoids.
Details
| Description: | Tree, shrub, up to 5–15 m tall, with spiny shoots. |
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| Distributions: | Most recent research indicates an origin in australia, new caledonia and new guinea. some scientists consider the origin to be in the part of southeast asia bordered by northeast india, burma (myanmar) and the yunnan province of china; from this region some commercial species such as oranges, mandarins, and lemons originated. |
| Habitat: | The trees thrive in a consistently sunny, humid environment with fertile soil and adequate rainfall or irrigation. |
| Year cycle: | Perennial (polycarpic evergreen) |
| Flowering period: | April - mei |
| Flower color: | White |
| Notes on flowers: | The flowers are solitary or in small corymbs, each flower 2–4 cm diameter, with five (rarely four) white petals and numerous stamens; they are often very strongly scented. |
| Fruiting period: | September - december |
| Fruit color: | Orange, yellow, green |
| At its best: | April - mei, september - december |