Cam sành

Cam sành
A cam sành tree
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Angiosperms
Class:	Eudicots
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	C. reticulata × maxima
Binomial name
Citrus reticulata × maxima

The cam sành^[1][2] (Vietnamese for "green orange"), Citrus reticulata × maxima)^[1] is a cultivar of citrus fruit similar to an orange, originating in Vietnam. The fruit may be easily recognized by its thick skin, which is typically bright green^[1] (because of which, it is sometimes referred to as a green orange), although the skin may also be partly green and partly orange, or entirely orange. Its flesh is orange, dark and sweet.^[2]

Classification as a hybrid

The fruit is a natural hybrid of the Mandarin orange (C. reticulata or C. nobilis) and the pomelo (C. maxima). It is one among many citrus fruits from the region. These include the closely related yellow cam canh and reddish to yellow cam bo ha mandarin–pomelos hybrids; the orange-colored chun or sen, yellow bak son, and pink hong orange–mandarin hybrids or "king mandarins" (C. reticulata × C. sinensis); as well as at least three nonhybridized mandarin (C. reticulata) varietals.^[1] The term "king mandarin" is sometimes applied to the cam sành itself.^[2]

Several cam sành

Distribution

The tree was introduced to the United States in 1880, when the United States Minister to Japan John A. Bingham arranged for six cam sành fruits to be shipped from Saigon, Cochinchina to Dr. H. S. Magee, a nurseryman in Riverside, California. In 1882, Magee sent two seedlings and budwood to J. C. Stovin in Winter Park, Florida.^[3][4]

This tree is referred to as the "King Tangor" or "King Mandarin" in most horticultural literature. ^[5] Scion for grafting is available through the University of California Citrus Clonal Protection Program. ^[6] One notable difference is the fact that in temperate climates the fruit will turn a bright orange in response to colder temperatures when the fruits ripen.^[5]

In Vietnam, the tree is cultivated in the Mỏ Cày District, Bến Tre Province,^[1] as well as the northern mountainous areas.^[1][2] It has also been grown in the Bố Hạ region of Yên Thế (Yên District) of Bắc Giang Province,^[2] but had been eradicated due to the citrus greening disease. Nowadays, cam sành is planted widely in northeastern Vietnam (particularly Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang, and Yên Bái), as well as in several provinces of the Mekong Delta in the south, including Vĩnh Long, Cần Thơ, and Tiền Giang.

Cultivation

It prefers alluvial soil, and a cool, moist climate, but is widely adaptable,^[2] and does well at comparatively high altitudes.^[1][2] Yield is high, with an average fruit weight of 150–250 g.^[2]

References