Chen Pi

Citrus reticulata is a small evergreen tree in the Rutaceae, thought to have originated in southern China and northeastern India and now cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropics as the mandarin orange and its many cultivars. Trees typically reach 3-8 m tall, with slender, often slightly thorny branches forming a rounded, open crown. The alternate, leathery leaves are lanceolate to elliptic, 4-8 cm long, glossy dark green, and have narrowly winged petioles and gland-dotted blades that release a citrus scent when crushed. Fragrant white flowers, 1.5-2.5 cm across with five waxy petals and many stamens, are borne singly or in small axillary clusters. The fruit is a depressed-globose hesperidium 4-8 cm wide with a loose, easily peeled orange rind, sweet juicy segments and few seeds. The species thrives in warm, frost-free climates on well-drained loamy soils with regular rainfall.