The difference between orange and tangerine

It is the season for eating oranges again. It is very good to eat oranges at this time, because oranges are rich in vitamins, which can supplement the absorption of some trace elements. At the same time, oranges are very acidic, and the sour and sweet taste can stimulate the appetite and promote digestion. There are many varieties of oranges. We need to know more about the difference between willow oranges and tangerines.

The morphological characteristics of orange are that it is a tree with few or almost thornless branches. The leaves are usually slightly smaller than those of pomelo, with narrow wing leaves, obvious or only traces, and ovate or ovate-elliptical leaf blades.

Lanceolate, 6-10 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, or larger. The flowers are white, rarely with light purple-red on the back, with a few flowers in the raceme, or with axillary single flowers; the calyx is 5-3 shallowly lobed, the petals are 1.2-1.5 cm long, and there are 20-25 stamens; the style is thick and the stigma is enlarged. The fruit is spherical, oblate or elliptical, orange-yellow to orange-red, the peel is difficult or slightly easy to peel off, the sac has 9-12 petals, the fruit core is solid or semi-full, the flesh is light yellow, orange-red or purple-red, and tastes sweet or slightly sour; there are few or no seeds, the seed coat has slightly ribbed patterns, the cotyledons are milky white, and there are multiple embryos. The flowering period is 3-5 months, the fruiting period is October-December, and the late-maturing varieties are from February to April of the following year.

Orange (scientific name: Citrus junos Sieb. ex Tanaka), a small tree.

The branches usually have thick and long thorns, and the new shoots and young petioles are often covered with sparse short hairs. The leaves are thick and papery, the wing leaves are obovate-elliptical, rounded or obtuse at the apex, gradually narrowing to a cuneate point towards the base, the leaf blades are ovate or lanceolate, rounded or obtuse at the base, and the leaf margins have fine teeth in the flat section, rarely nearly entire. The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils, drooping, with short pedicels; the calyx is cup-shaped; the petals are white, sometimes light purple-red on the back; the style is about twice as long as the height of the ovary, and the stigma is almost as large as the ovary. The fruit is oblate or nearly pear-shaped; there are up to 40 seeds, which are broadly ovate, plump, smooth, with milky white cotyledons, single or multiple embryos. The flowering period is April-May, and the fruiting period is October-November.

Produced in many provinces and regions of China. It is not produced south of the Wuling Mountains. It is a citrus tree with a wider and northern distribution. It is cold-resistant and some varieties are semi-deciduous. Orange fruit contains hesperidin, citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, sugars, pectin and vitamin C, which are beneficial to the human body; it tastes sweet and has a neutral nature. It has the effects of promoting fluid production and quenching thirst, soothing the liver and regulating qi, and promoting lactation. In ancient China, mainly during the 12th to 16th century, books mentioned that oranges were produced on both sides of the Yangtze River, also known as tangerines or fragrant oranges. Most of them referred to this species, not the sweet oranges we know today. The commonly known oranges include various types of oranges.