The ' () or King orange (''Citrus reticulata'' × ''sinensis'') is a

citrus hybrid Citrus taxonomy refers to the botanical classification of the species, varieties, cultivars, and graft hybrids within the genus ''Citrus'' and related genera, found in cultivation and in the wild. Citrus taxonomy is complex and controversial. ...

originating in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. ' is

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

for "terracotta orange", although the fruit is more akin to a

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

. The fruit may be easily recognized by its thick skin, which is typically bright green, although the skin may also be partly green and partly orange, or entirely orange. Its flesh is orange, dark and sweet. This is the most popular orange variety in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Classification

This tree is referred to as the "King

Tangor The tangor (''C. reticulata'' × ''C. sinensis'') is a citrus fruit hybrid of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata'') and the sweet orange (''Citrus sinensis''). The name "tangor" is a formation from the "tang" of tangerine and the "or" of " ...

" or "King

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

" in most horticultural literature. Scion for grafting is available through the University of California Citrus Clonal Protection Program. One notable difference is that in temperate climates the fruit will turn a bright orange in response to colder temperatures when the fruits ripen. It is one among many citrus fruits from the region. These include the closely related yellow ''cam canh'' and reddish to yellow ''cam bo ha'' mandarin–

pomelo The pomelo ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefr ...

s hybrids; the orange-colored ''chun'' or ''sen'', yellow ''bak son'', and pink ''hong'' orange–mandarin hybrids or "king mandarins" (''C. reticulata'' × ''C. sinensis''); as well as at least three non-hybridized mandarin (''C. reticulata'') varietals. The term "king mandarin" is sometimes applied to the ''cam sành'' itself.

Distribution

The tree was introduced to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1880, when the United States Minister to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

John A. Bingham John Armor Bingham (January 21, 1815 – March 19, 1900) was an American politician who served as a Republican representative from Ohio and as the United States ambassador to Japan. In his time as a congressman, Bingham served as both assist ...

arranged for six ''cam sành'' fruits to be shipped from

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

to Dr. H. S. Magee, a

nurseryman A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. In 1882, Magee sent two

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

s and budwood to J. C. Stovin in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was fo ...

. In Vietnam, the tree is cultivated in the Mỏ Cày District, Bến Tre Province, as well as the northern mountainous areas. It has also been grown in the Bố Hạ region of Yên Thế (Yên District) of Bắc Giang Province, but had been eradicated due to the

citrus greening disease Citrus greening disease (; or HLB) is a disease of citrus caused by a vector-transmitted pathogen. The causative agents are motile bacteria, ''Liberibacter'' spp. The disease is vectored and transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, ''Diaphorina ...

. Nowadays, ''cam sành'' is planted widely in northeastern Vietnam (particularly

Hà Giang Hà Giang () is a city located on the banks of the Lô River in the Northeast region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Hà Giang Province. The city has an area of 135.33 km2 and a population of 55 559 inhabitants. The population is compose ...

Tuyên Quang Tuyên Quang () is a city in Vietnam, and is the capital of Tuyên Quang Province. History The French post at Tuyên Quang was defended for four months against 12,000 troops of the Yunnan Army and the Black Flag Army by two companies of the Fre ...

, and

Yên Bái Yên Bái () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Yên Bái Province, in the north-east region of Vietnam. The city borders Yên Bình District and Trấn Yên District. The city is a settlement along the banks of the Red River, approxim ...

), as well as in several provinces of the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

in the south, including

Vĩnh Long Vĩnh Long () is a city and the capital of Vĩnh Long Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Vĩnh Long covers and has a population of 147,039 (as of 2009). The name was spelled 永隆 ("eternal prosperity") in the former Hán Nôm writing syst ...

Cần Thơ Cần Thơ, also written as Can Tho or Cantho (: , : ), is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rur ...

, and

Tiền Giang The term ''tiền'' ( Hán tự: 錢) is used to refer to various currency-related concepts used in Vietnamese history. The name is a cognate with the Chinese ''qián'' (錢), a unit of weight called " mace" in English. It can refer to a unit o ...

Cultivation

It prefers

alluvial soil Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

, and a cool, moist climate, but is widely adaptable, and does well at comparatively high altitudes. Yield is high, with an average fruit weight of .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cam sanh Citrus hybrids