The exact origin of the Clementine is a small mystery. Some think a missionary named Father Clement Rodier from France created the tasty fruit by crossing a tangerine and a Seville orange, but some think the fruit originates from China many years before. The Clementine is actually a portion of the mandarin family. Now Spain and Morocco are considered the significant producers of Clementines due to their suitable hot and arid weather.
The Clementine
The first clementine (Algerian Tangerine) was introduced to North American first at Florida in 1909 and then California in 1914. The tree is medium sized and nearly free of thorns. The fruit might be round or elliptical shaped and is about 2 inches wide by 2 inches high. Each fruit typically sports eight to 12 segments of juicy flesh. They may have seeds, although only three to six, on average, throughout the entire fruit.
Clementine De Nules
Meanwhile, the “Clementine De Nules” tree produces mandarin-type clementines of small to medium size. The rind of the clementine is slimmer than other kinds, with a smooth and shiny appearance of red-orange color. The fruit is juicy with a deep-orange flesh speckled with medium-sized seeds. The tree itself originates from Spain and sports no thorns early in the growing season. It rises in U. S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 to 11 when grown in containers or zones 8 to 11 if planted right into the ground. The tree will blossom in early May and you can start enjoying your “Clementine De Nules” from November to May.
Clementine Caffin
The “Clementine Caffin” is just another Mandarin-type Clementine that produces medium-sized fruit with both a bright-orange rind and flesh. This fruit is seedless and grows on trees preferring full sun exposure and reaching a height of around 8 feet tall. The “Clementine Caffin” tree will blossom in late fall or early winter and you may harvest the fruit from November to May. This tree is self-pollinating, so you can plant only one and have it produce fruit. “Clementine Caffin” is hardy in USDA zones 8 to 10.
Hybrids
Many hybrids have been made by crossing the Clementine along with other similar citrus cultivars. Meanwhile, the “Robinson” was created and published in 1959 from the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Horticultural Field Station in Orlando, Florida. It is the result of crossing a Clementine with the “Orlando” tangelo. It is very similar to a tangerine, having many more seeds than a typical Clementine, as many as 10 to 20 per fruit. Meanwhile, the “Robinson” lost popularity because of it’s slow ripening time, but experienced a resurrection when Ethrel, a ripening agent, had been used to accelerate the fruit’s color switch whilst on the tree and loosen the fruit as well.