Citrus margarita | |
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Fruit | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Rutaceae |
Genus: | Citrus |
Species: | C. margarita
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Binomial name | |
Citrus margarita | |
Synonyms | |
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Citrus margarita, the oval kumquat[4] or Nagami kumquat,[5][6] is a species of kumquat;[1] a type of citrus fruit in the genus Citrus, family Rutaceae.[7] Its epithet, margarita, is Latin for pearly.[8]
It is first described by the Portuguese botanist João de Loureiro in 1790, in his Flora cochinchinensis under the name Citrus margarita.[7][9] It is described again by the American botanist Walter Tennyson Swingle in 1915, as varieties of Citrus japonica.[10] However, recent phylogenetic analysis suggested that C. margarita is a single 'true' species.[1][2][7][11]
C. margarita grows 8–12 ft (2.4–3.7 m) tall. The branches do not have spines, unlike C. japonica. It has simple, alternate leaves, which are dark green above and have a leathery texture. They grow to about 10 cm (3.9 in) long. The flowers are white with 5 sepals and 5 petals and 16-20 stamens. The stigma is hollow and enlarged at the top.[12] The fruits of C. margarita are oblong, measuring 3 cm × 4 cm (1.2 in × 1.6 in).[8] They have 4-5 segments each.[13] The peel is sweet, while the flesh is sour.[14]
C. margarita is native to southeast China.[15] It is cultivated in Central and South America, Sicily, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Hawaii and Malaysia.[16]