Citrus reticulata

The mandarin orange or satsuma orange is in the citrus or Rutaceae family and is native to China but was introduced to the West via Japan. It is a seedless and easy-peeling citrus.

Mandarins are important as the only sweet fruit among the parental species of citrus. Reddish-orange mandarin cultivars may be marketed as tangerines.

• Leaves are pinnate, up to 35 cm long, with up to 13 ovate leaflets, taper pointed, untoothed and each about 10 cm long and 5 cm across. Leaves turn yellow in the fall.
• Male and female flowers are small, green, in conical clusters on separate trees.
• Compared to the sweet orange, mandarins are thin skinned, smaller and slightly flattened rather than spherical.
• Bark is thick and corky with notable vertical ridges.