The tangelo is a
man-made hybrid of the tangerine and the pomelo. In fact, that
is where the tangelo got its name. However, it is common for
people to confuse the tangelo with the tangerine, mandarin,
and orange.
To add to the confusion, there are different varieties of
tangelos and all are not necessarily created from tangerines
and pomelos. One common variant, the Minneola tangelo, is a
hybrid of the tangerine and Duncan grapefruit. Another variant
was created by crossing a mandarin with a pomelo, which
technically makes it an orange.
The tangelo is believed to have first appeared in the forests
of Southeast Asia 3,500 years ago when insects
cross-pollinated the mandarin with a fruit that is closely
related to the grapefruit. However, today’s tangelos are the
result of a selective breeding program that started in the
1800s.
At the forefront of the tangelo project was the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA), which created the popular
Minneola tangelo sold across the United States. The USDA
released the seeds of the Minneola tangelo in 1931. It is
named after the city of Minneola, Florida.
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