science

Tangerine

Tangerine is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tangerine rather than just read about it. In short: The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata), or a closely related species, under the name Citrus tangerina, or yet as a hybrid (Citrus × tangerina) of mandarin orange varieties, with some pomelo contribution. Etymology The word "tangerine" was originally an adjective meaning "of Tangier", a Moroccan seaport on the St…

Key takeaways

Tangerine belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tangerine to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tangerine from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata), or a closely related species, under the name Citrus tangerina, or yet as a hybrid (Citrus × tangerina) of mandarin orange varieties, with some pomelo contribution.

Etymology The word "tangerine" was originally an adjective meaning "of Tangier", a Moroccan seaport on the Strait of Gibraltar. The name was first used for fruit shipped from Tangier, described as a mandarin variety. The OED cites this usage from Addison's The Tatler in 1710 with similar uses from the 1800s. The fruit was once known scientifically as "Citrus nobilis var. tangeriana"; it grew in the region of Tangiers. This usage appeared in the 1800s.

Taxonomy

Under the Tanaka classification system, Citrus tangerina is considered a separate species. Under the Swingle system, tangerines are considered a group of mandarin (C. reticulata) varieties. Some differ only in disease resistance. The term is also currently applied to any reddish-orange mandarin (and, in some jurisdictions, mandarin-like hybrids, including some tangors).

Description Tangerines are smaller and less rounded than oranges. They taste less sour, as well as sweeter and stronger, than oranges do. A ripe tangerine is firm to slightly soft, and pebbly-skinned with no deep grooves, as well as orange in color. The peel is thin, with little bitter white mesocarp. The peak tangerine season lasts from autumn to spring. Tangerines are most commonly peeled and eaten by hand. The fresh fruit is also used in salads, desserts and main dishes. Fresh tangerine juice and frozen juice concentrate are commonly available in the United States. The peel is used fresh or dried as a spice or zest for baking and drinks: the Chinese spice Chenpi is made from mandarin zest.

Production

In 2021, world production of tangerines (including mandarins and clementines) was 42 million tonnes (46 million short tons), led by China with 60% of the total (table).

Varieties

Tangerines were first grown and cultivated as a distinct crop in the Americas by a Major Atway in Palatka, Florida. Atway was said to have imported them from Morocco (more specifically its third-largest city, the port of Tangier), which was the origin of the name. Major Atway sold his groves to N. H. Moragne in 1843, giving the Moragne tangerine the other part of its name. The Moragne tangerine produced a seedling which became one of the oldest and most popular American varieties, the Dancy tangerine (zipper-skin tangerine, kid-glove orange). Genetic analysis has shown the parents of the Dancy to have been two mandarin orange hybrids each with a small pomelo contribution, a Ponkan mandarin orange and a second unidentified mandarin. The Dancy is no longer widely commercially grown; it is too delicate to handle and ship well, it is susceptible to Alternaria fungus, and it bears more heavily in alternate years. Dancys are still grown for personal consumption, and many hybrids of the Dancy are grown commercially. Until the 1970s, the Dancy was the most widely grown tangerine in the United States; the popularity of the fruit led to the term "tangerine" being broadly applied as a marketing name. Florida classifies tangerine-like hybrid fruits as tangerines for the purposes of sale and regulation; this classification is widely used but regarded as technically inaccurate in the industry. Among the most important tangerine hybrids of Florida are murcotts (a late-fruiting type of tangor marketed as "honey tangerine") and Sunbursts (an early-fruiting complex tangerine-orange-grapefruit hybrid). The fallglo, also a three-way hybrid (5⁄8 tangerine, 1⁄4 orange and 1⁄8 grapefruit), is also grown.

Nutrition

Tangerines contain 85% water, 13% carbohydrates, and negligible amounts of fat and protein (table). Among micronutrients, only vitamin C is in significant content (30% of the Daily Value) in a 100-gram (3.5 oz) reference serving, with all other micronutrients in low amounts.

References

External links Data related to Citrus tangerina at Wikispecies Tangerine at the Wikibooks Cookbook subproject Media related to Tangerines at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tangerine

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tangerine claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tangerine before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tangerine ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tangerine

In research: Tangerine appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tangerine in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tangerine is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Citrus, Citrus hybrids, Crops, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tangerine outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tangerine in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tangerine means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tangerine out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tangerine in simple terms?

Why does Tangerine matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tangerine?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tangerine.