Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Tangerine Peel

Description

This popular widely known fruit goes by a variety of names, creating some possible confusion at times as to which plant one is dealing with. Commonly known as mandarin in much of the world (in Japan it goes by satsuma), the fruit is most often called tangerine in the United States. Generally listed under the botanical name Citrus reticulata, it is also known as C. nobilis, C. madurensis, C. unshiu, C. deliciosa, C. tangerina or C. erythrosa.

A native of Asia, the plant was introduced into Europe early in the nineteenth century. By midcentury, it had spread to the United States, where it was rechristened tangerine. Today, the easily cultivated plant is grown around the Mediterranean, in north Africa, and in both North and South America. Tangerines are generally bigger, rounder, and have more of a yellow-colored skin; mandarins, on the other hand, are smaller, more angular, and deeper orange...