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A woman was blindsided by the "grapefruit" sent by the landlord,
Obviously a grapefruit,
After cutting, but "no heart"
Smelling fragrant,
Taste a little sour and a little astringent,
What kind of fruit is this?
How to eat it?
citron
In fact, the woman received not grapefruit, but citrons from the rutaceae, the genus Citrus.
Citron, also known as bubble and perfume lemon, is a plant of the genus Citrus of the Rutaceae family, slightly similar in appearance to lemon, is an irregularly branched shrub or small tree, born at altitudes of 350 to 1750 meters in high temperature and humidity. It is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places, and has a cultivation history of more than 2,000 years in the mainland.
The fragrant bubble first came from the "Bencao Tujing": "Goji, like a small melon, the skin is like an orange, and the luster is cute, the meat is very thick, cut like a radish, although the taste is short and fragrant, it is better than citrus and the like." Tao reclusive cloud nature is pleasant, now Fujian, Guangzhou, Jiangxi, but the other person is called a citron, or will be under the capital, also expensive. ”
Look at this yellow appearance,
and the aroma of "big victory citrus and the like",
Can't help but make the editor salivate,
This citron must be extremely beautiful, right?
However, after actually tasting it, the editor found that the reality is so vulnerable, to borrow Pei Yuan's description in "Guangzhou Ji": "The citrus tree is made of oranges like pomelo, large and double-length, with a strange taste, and the skin is boiled with honey as grits." ”
Taste is very sour
Historically, there is also an allusion to being "blinded" by the appearance of citrons.
About being confused by citrons
According to the "Yu Ion", King Liang liked to eat fruits. One day, on a whim, he sent an envoy to the Kingdom of Wu to ask for it, and the people of the Kingdom of Wu gave him many oranges, and the King of Liang ate them and thought they were sweet and delicious, and liked them very much. Soon after, King Liang wanted to eat fruit again, so he again sent an envoy to Wu Guo to ask for other fruits, and Wu Guoren racked his brains and gave him oranges.
After eating the orange, King Liang felt that it was more delicious than the orange, and sent messengers to ask for the fruit. This time, the people of Wu really couldn't give any other fruit, and King Liang didn't believe it, so he personally ran to Wu to look for fruit. Unexpectedly, he really found it, and saw that the courtyard of a farmhouse was full of a fruit as large as a melon, its appearance was like an orange, and the fragrance was very attractive.
King Liang thought that the taste of this fruit must be better than orange, so he went up to ask the farmer for it, and the farmer said that this was not delicious and did not give it to King Liang. King Liang was helpless and insisted on asking the peasants for a lot of money. In the end, King Liang, who got his wish, only ate one clove, and felt that his teeth were sore and could not chew.
The king of Liang was very angry, so he sent an envoy to rebuke the people of Wu, and the people of Wu responded: "The beauty of the fruit of my country, the orange and the orange, are all at the request of the king, and there is nothing to be desired, and the king's request is favored, and the messenger does not inquire but looks at its external beauty, and it is appropriate to obtain what is not worth what he wants." King Liang was confused by the appearance of the citron, and only after tasting its taste did he realize the sour nature of this fruit.
Today, because the peel of the citron is super thick, although the fragrance is charming, unfortunately there are too few parts that can be eaten, and the taste is not good, so we are still not familiar with it. But its variants and descendants are regular customers at people's tables.
The "secret" of the citrus family
Look at this big son!
In this group photo of the citrus family, the most "dazzling" is the bergamot. As the name suggests, he shows the style of a king.
Bergamot
Bergamot is one of the varieties of citron, the skin is bright yellow, wrinkled and shiny, often open like a finger, hence the name bergamot, white flesh, no seeds. The aroma of bergamot is stronger than that of citron, and it is more fragrant for a long time. It is cultivated all over the place south of the Yangtze River.
Apart from bergamot, what is the relationship between citron and other members of the citrus family?
About the citrus expansion territory
According to scientists, the citrus family evolved from yellow-bark plants tens of millions of years ago. Primitive groups of citrus families formed in the Himalayas 8 million years ago, and citrus began to expand east-west and south-south in the following period.
Due to different growing environments and other factors, the original citrus taxa in all directions on the way to expansion showed "subtle changes".
At the age of 6 million years ago, citrons appeared in the citrus family that expanded westward.
The citrus family that expanded southward appeared grapefruit (primitive grapefruit, thicker than the current grapefruit skin), and by 4 million years ago, it expanded to the Australian continent with the appearance of Australian oranges, Australian lemons and Australian sandy oranges.
The citrus family, which expanded eastward, appeared small flowers and kumquats, and by the time it was 2 million years ago, broad-peeled oranges (oranges in the true sense) appeared.
At this point, several ancient and pure-blooded "bigwigs" in the citrus family arrived, and the chaotic relationship between the citrus family also began.
In the process of the expansion of the citrus family, citron is only used as the father, grapefruit is only the mother, and broad-peeled orange is both "daddy" and "mother".
Citron and broad-peeled orange hybridized quinoa and coarse lemon; Broad-peeled oranges and grapefruit hybridized limes (mostly used for breeding), early mixed oranges, and at this time grapefruit and citron were not related.
limes and citrons, which carry the genes of grapefruit and broad-peeled oranges, crossed lemons, and here grapefruit and citron climbed into relatives; Early mixed oranges and grapefruit hybridized sweet oranges (at this stage, except for the original grapefruit and citron series, most members of the citrus family contain the gene of sweet orange).
Sweet oranges began to flourish, and sweet oranges and grapefruit crossed grapefruit and early mixed oranges crossed into late mixed oranges. (Of course, all three of these relationships are hybrids in the natural state.) ）
If you factor in human intervention,
Will the citrus family be more "messy"?
In fact, so many members of the citrus family are related to reproductive isolation.
About reproductive isolation
Whether animals or plants, there is reproductive isolation between different species, and even if they can cross and reproduce, the offspring are generally sterile, such as mules and lions and tigers in animals.
Although the reproductive isolation between plants is not as significant as that of animals, it is quite difficult to interbreed between species in plants of other families. For citrus fruits, there is little reproductive isolation between them, especially with human involvement.
Therefore, citrus fruits, whether they are native species or hybrids, or their offspring, basically as long as the two meet each other, they can hybridize and reproduce.
Therefore, in the face of the emergence of new citrus varieties like "mushrooms", the editor just wants to say that their families will become bigger and bigger, right?!
Some sources: Treasure Collection, CITIC Publishing Group, Fruitshell.com, Euphorbia Society, Species
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