Citrus unshiu

 ( Unshiu ) 

Citrus unshiu is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as the satsuma mandarin or Japanese mandarin. During the Edo period of Japan, were more popular because there was a popular superstition that eating Citrus unshiu without seeds made people prone to infertility. After modernization started in the Meiji period, Citrus unshiu grew in popularity, becoming fondly associated with wintertime much like kotatsu. It was introduced to the West from the Satsuma province of Japan in 1878.

Citrus unshiu was named after Wenzhou, a famous production area of Citrus species in China, in the late Edo period of Japan. Before the name unshu mikan was established in Japan, it was called nakajima mikain or nagashima mikan after the place name of Nishi-Nakajima in Amakusa District of the Higo Province (later Nagashima, Kagoshima), where the species is said to have been born.

There are two theories about the origin of the Citrus unshiu. One is that Citrus unshiu originated in Japan, while the other is that it originated in China. target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> The Satsuma Mandarin University of Florida

According to the Japanese origin theory, several species that would serve as the parents of Citrus unshiu were introduced from China, and in the 1600s, they were born in Nishi-Nakajima, Higo Province (later Nagashima, Kagoshima) in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ehime Prefecture and Japanese scientists support this theory of Japanese origin.

Genetic studies conducted in the 2010s suggest that the maternal species of Citrus unshiu is kishu ( Citrus kinokuni) and the paternal species is kunenbo ( Citrus nobilis Lour. var. kunip).

Various cultivars have been developed based on the Citrus unshiu, and in Japan, three cultivars, namely miyagawa wase, okitsu wase, and aoshima unshu, account for nearly half of the production volume of Citrus unshiu.

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Nomenclature The unshiu is known as () in China, and in Japan (or formally unshū mikan, the Japanese reading of the characters used in Chinese). In both languages, the name means "honey citrus of Wenzhou" (a city in Zhejiang province, China). An alternative Chinese name, (), means "seedless mandarin orange".

One of the English names for the fruit, satsuma, is derived from the former Satsuma Province in Japan, from which these fruits were first exported to the West.

The Afrikaans name naartjie is also used in South African English. It came originally from the Tamil language word , meaning citrus.

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Classification Under the Citrus taxonomy, Citrus unshiu is considered a separate species from the mandarin orange. Under the Citrus taxonomy, unshius are considered to be a group of mandarin varieties. Genetic analysis has shown the Satsuma to be a highly inbred mandarin-pomelo hybrid, with 22% of its genome, a larger proportion than seen in most mandarins, coming from pomelo. It arose when a mandarin of the low-pomelo Huanglingmiao or kishumikan variety (placed in C. reticulata by Tanaka) was crossed with a pomelo or pomelo hybrid, then the resulting cultivar was with another Huanglingmiao or kishumikan mandarin. and Supplement

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Characteristics Citrus unshiu is one of the sweetest citrus varieties. It is usually seedless, and is about the size of other ( Citrus reticulata). Satsumas are known for their loose, leathery skin; the fruit is very easily peeled in comparison to other citrus fruits.

(2025). 9780128027578, Elsevier Science. . ISBN 9780128027578

The rind is often smooth to slightly rough with the shape of a medium to small flattened sphere. Satsumas usually have 10 to 12 easily separable segments with tough membranes. The flesh is particularly delicate, and cannot withstand the effects of careless handling. Coloring of the fruit is often dependent on climate; satsumas grown in humid areas may be ripe while the skin is still green while those grown in areas with cool night temperatures may see a brilliant reddish orange skin at peak.

Satsumas are cold-hardy, and when planted in colder locations, the fruit becomes sweeter from the colder temperatures. A mature satsuma tree can survive down to or even for a few hours. Of the edible citrus varieties, only the kumquat is more cold-hardy. Satsumas rarely have any thorns, an attribute that also makes them popular. They can be grown from seed, which takes about eight years until the first fruits are produced, or grafted onto other , such as trifoliate orange.

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History

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United States of America

Jesuits brought the fruit from Asia to North America in the 18th century, starting groves in the Jesuit Plantation upriver from New Orleans, Louisiana (then a part of New Spain). The municipal street "Orange" in New Orleans, was originally named "Rue Des Orangers" and the site of the Jesuit grove. The groves were later re-cultivated farther south in Plaquemines Parish to provide greater protection from harmful frosts, and have continued to the present day. The Becnel family are the largest growers of Louisiana citrus.

The fruit became much more common in the United States starting in the late 19th century. In 1878 during the Meiji period, Owari mikans were brought to the United States from the Satsuma Province in Kyūshū, Japan, by Anna Van Valkenburgh, the spouse of the US Minister to Japan, General Van Valkenburgh, who renamed them satsumas.

James Saunt (2025). 9781872960012, Sinclair International Ltd. ISBN 9781872960012

Between 1908 and 1911 about a million Owari mikan trees were imported throughout the lower Gulf Coast states. Owari is still commonly grown in Florida. The towns of Satsuma, Alabama, Satsuma, Florida, Satsuma, Texas, and Satsuma, Louisiana were named after this fruit. By 1920 Jackson County in the Florida Panhandle had billed itself as the "Satsuma Capital of the World". However, the commercial industry was damaged by a cold snap in 1911, a hurricane in 1915, and a very cold period in the late 1930s.

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Distribution

Citrus unshiu is amongst others grown in Japan, Spain, central China, Korea, the US, South Africa, South America, New Zealand, and around the Black Sea.

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Varieties

Unshiu varieties cluster among the mandarin orange family. There are, however, some citrus hybrids.

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Possible non-hybrids

• Kishu mikan
• Ōgonkan or Ki-mikan
• Komikan

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Hybrids

• Amanatsu (pomelo hybrid)
• Kinkoji unshiu ( C. obovoidea(kinkoji) × C. unshiu)
• Kiyomi
• Dekopon is a kiyomi hybrid
• Kobayashi mikan ( C. natsudaidai × C.unshiu)
• Shonan Gold
• Iyokan

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External links

• The Satsuma Tangerine – University of Florida
• PLANTanswers – Texas Cooperative Extension

Categories: Unshiu, Fruits Originating In East Asia, Japanese Fruit, Medicinal Plants Of Asia, Chinese Fruit

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