Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae .
Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits . The genus Citrus is native to South Asia , East Asia , Southeast Asia , Melanesia , and Australia . For thousands of years, people in these areas grew citrus plants.
Citrus fruits include oranges , lemons , grapefruits , limes , citrons , pomelos , and kumquats .
Citrus reached Micronesia and Polynesia with the Austronesian expansion around 3000-1500 BC . It reached the Middle East and Mediterranean around 1200 BC, and then Europe .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4]
↑ Wu GA, Terol J, Ibanez V, López-García A, Pérez-Román E, Borredá C, Domingo C, Tadeo FR, Carbonell-Caballero J, Alonso R, Curk F, Du D, Ollitrault P, Roose ML, Dopazo J, Gmitter FG, Rokhsar DS, Talon M (February 2018). "Genomics of the origin and evolution of Citrus" . Nature . 554 (7692): 311–316. Bibcode :2018Natur.554..311W . doi :10.1038/nature25447 . PMID 29414943 .
↑ Fuller, Dorian Q.; Castillo, Cristina; Kingwell-Banham, Eleanor; Qin, Ling; Weisskopf, Alison (2017). "Charred pomelo peel, historical linguistics and other tree crops: approaches to framing the historical context of early Citrus cultivation in East, South and Southeast Asia" . In Zech-Matterne, Véronique; Fiorentino, Girolamo (eds.). AGRUMED: Archaeology and history of citrus fruit in the Mediterranean (PDF) . Publications du Centre Jean Bérard. pp. 29–48. doi :10.4000/books.pcjb.2107 . ISBN 9782918887775 .
↑ Zech-Matterne, Véronique; Fiorentino, Girolamo; Coubray, Sylvie; Luro, François (2017). "Introduction" . In Zech-Matterne, Véronique; Fiorentino, Girolamo (eds.). AGRUMED: Archaeology and history of citrus fruit in the Mediterranean: Acclimatization, diversification, uses . Publications du Centre Jean Bérard. ISBN 9782918887775 .
↑ Langgut, Dafna (June 2017). "The Citrus Route Revealed: From Southeast Asia into the Mediterranean" . HortScience . 52 (6): 814–822. doi :10.21273/HORTSCI11023-16 .