What is Citrus ?

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast Asia,China is one of important original centers. The word citrus is derived from the Ancient Greek kedros or its Latin derivate cedrus, names applied by the ancient Greeks and Romans to several different trees with fragrant foliage or wood (compare the completely unrelated cedars). The taxonomy and systematics of the genus are complex and the precise number of natural species is unclear, as many of the named species are clonally-propagated hybrids, and there is genetic evidence that even some wild, true-breeding species are of hybrid origin. Cultivated Citrus may be derived from as few as four ancestral species. Natural and cultivated origin hybrids include commercially important fruit such as the sweet oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes (sour oranges) and tangerines.

Slices of various citrus fruits