Citrus Trees Defined

[Dave]

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast Asia.

The genus contains three species, and numerous natural and cultivated origin hybrids, including commercially important fruit such as the orange, lemon, grapefruit, lime, and tangerine.

The taxonomy of the genus is complex, but recent genetic evidence supports the presence of only three species, C. maxima, C. medica and C. reticulata, with all the other taxa previously accepted as species being of hybrid origin between these three. They are large evergreen shrubs or small trees, reaching 5-15 m tall.