Rangpur, ''Citrus'' × ''limonia'' or ''Citrus reticulata'' × ''medica'', sometimes called the rangpur lime, mandarin lime or lemandarin, is a hybrid between the

mandarin orange The mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), also known as the mandarin or mandarine, is a small citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Tangerines are a group of orange-coloured ...

and the

citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed throu ...

. It is a

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

with a very

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

ic taste and an

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

peel and flesh.

Common names

Common names for this fruit include rangpur, the name of a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

now in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Rangpur is also known in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

as ''

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

lime'' (after another region also now in Bangladesh), ''surkh nimboo'', and ''sharbati''. It is known as a ''canton-lemon'' in South China, a ''hime-lemon'' in Japan, as ''limão-capeta'', ''limão-cravo'', ''limão-rosa'' or ''limão-galego'' in Brazil and Portugal (namely in the Azores), and ''mandarin-lime'' in the United States, and similarly ''limón-mandarina'' (lemon tangerine) in Costa Rica because of its shape and the way its skin is peeled.

History

''Citrus'' × ''limonia'' was introduced into Florida in the late nineteenth century by Reasoner Brothers of Oneco, who obtained their seeds from northwestern India.U.C. Riverside Citrus Profile: Rangpur - ''Citrus × limonia''
/ref> Though often described as a lemon hybrid, genomic analysis has shown it to be an

F1 hybrid An F1 hybrid (also known as filial 1 hybrid) is the first filial generation of offspring of distinctly different parental types. F1 hybrids are used in genetics, and in selective breeding, where the term F1 crossbreed may be used. The term is somet ...

of a female citron (''Citrus medica'') and a male mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''). and Supplement

Use

Rangpurs are highly acidic and can be used as a substitute for

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

. However the name lime in connection with this fruit is misleading, because there are very few similarities between the rangpur and other fruits called limes. In 2006,

Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...

introduced a rangpur-flavored version of

Tanqueray Tanqueray is an English brand of gin produced by Diageo plc. It originated in London. In 2016 it displaced Beefeater as the number one global seller. While it does not command a sizable market share in its native market, its largest market i ...

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis''). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...

, known simply as Tanqueray Rangpur.

Cultivation

''Citrus'' × ''limonia'' is cultivated as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

for planting in gardens and a container plant on

patio A patio (, from es, patio ; "courtyard", "forecourt", "yard", "little garden") is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In Australia the term is expanded to include roofed stru ...

s and terraces in the United States. Outside the U.S. it is used principally as a

citrus rootstock Citrus rootstock are plants used as rootstock for citrus plants. A rootstock plant must be compatible for scion grafting, and resistant to common threats, such as drought, frost, and common citrus diseases. Principal rootstocks Five types of rootst ...

, except

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

where it is also grown commercially and is preferred over lime and lemon, used in any preparation that requires a lemon, and grows wild on cow pastures and near human settlements. File:Rangpurgin.jpg, A bottle of

Rangpur gin File:Citrus x limonia (Osbeck) Lemandrine 001.jpg, ''Citrus × limonia - Rangpur, flower and foliage File:Citrus x limonia (Osbeck) Lemandrine 003.jpg, ''Citrus × limonia - Rangpur, fruit and foliage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rangpur (Fruit) Citrus hybrids Flora of India (region) Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Lemons