Citron (Citrus medica)
Description
An Citrus medica in the Magnoliopsida usus species illustrated by Carl von Linné. The Citrus medica in nahilalakip the genus Citrus , and the family Rutaceae . The citron is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind, botanically classified as Citrus medica by both the Swingle and Tanaka botanical name systems. It is one of the four original citrus fruits (the others being pomelo, mandarin and papeda), from which all other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization. The citron is an old and original citrus species. There is molecular evidence that most cultivated citrus species arose by hybridization of a small number of ancestral types, including citron, pomelo, mandarin and to a lesser extent, papedas and kumquat. The citron is usually fertilized by self-pollination. This results in them displaying a high degree of genetic homozygosity, and it is the male parent of any citrus hybrid rather than a female one. The citron is thought to have been native to India, in valleys at the foothills of the eastern Himalayas. It is thought that by the time of Theophrastus, the citron was mostly cultivated in the Persian Gulf on its way to the Mediterranean basin, where it was cultivated during the later centuries in different areas as described by Erich Isaac. Many mention the role of Alexander the Great and his armies as they attacked Persia and what is today Pakistan, as being responsible for the spread of the citron westward, reaching the European countries such as Greece and Italy.
Taxonomic tree
-
Domain: Eukarya
-
-
Kingdom: Plantae
-
-
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
-
-
Class: Magnoliopsida
-
-
Order: Sapindales
-
-
Family: Rutaceae
-
-
Genus: Citrus
-
-
-
-
-
-
