Types of Citrus
Citrus has been vital to the Florida’s history for over four centuries. Commonly the term citrus in regards to Florida means oranges. While oranges are the bulk of the citrus groves in Florida it is important to note the other types of citrus the state produces. The main types of citrus that were planted in the state of Florida over the years is grapefruit, Mandarins/tangerines, limes, lemons, and of course several varieties of oranges.
Grapefruits were introduced to Florida in 1823 by Dr. Odette Philippe. It took a while for grapefruits to become popular, but gradually it became a fairly successful crop in the state of Florida. According to Louis W. Ziegler and Herbert S. Wolfe authors of Citrus Growing in Florida, by 1975 Florida was producing “more than 50 per cent of all the grapefruit in the world.” The Grapefruit production in the Florida is no more than a fraction of the orange industry, but still is still a significant part of the Citrus Industry in Florida today.
In circa 1825, Mandarins/tangerines, there is no distinct difference in the meaning of the two terms, were introduced to the state. The exact year that the crop was introduced is unknown. According to Ziegler and Wolfe in 1830, the village of Monroe located on the St. Johns River changed its name to Mandarin, implying that the crop must have successful by that time. It takes roughly four years for a citrus plant to fully mature, thus, it is roughly around 1825 when Mandarins were introduced to Florida.
Much is also unknown about the introduction of limes as a citrus crop to Florida. The first mention of limes being in Florida was in 1839 by Williams who only noted that there was an increase in limes being planted.
Lemons, on the other hand, have had a rise and fall history in Florida just like the Oranges. Lemons were first introduced in 1870 from Sicily. The commercial lemon industry took a huge hit from the “big freeze” of 1894-95. For the most part commercial, lemon production became focused only on providing for Florida, until 1953 when a there was a renewed interest in the crop. Lemons are more sensitive to cold than oranges, which is why production has originally slowed. After a few decades of minor freezes, lemons began to be produced at a marginally larger rate.
Find out more about the introduction of oranges in Citrus History 1565 to 1894.