The grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree grown for its bitter fruit which was originally named the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados.
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The grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree grown for its bitter fruit which was originally named the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados.
These evergreen trees are usually found at around 5-6 m (16-19 feet) tall, although they can reach 13-15 m (43-49 feet). The leaves are dark green, long (up to 150 mm, or 6 inches) and thin. It produces 5 cm (2-inch) white four-petaled flowers. The fruit is yellow-orange skinned and largely oblate, and ranges in diameter from 10-15 cm. The flesh is segmented and acidic, varying in color depending on the cultivars, which include white, pink and red pulps of varying sweetness. The 1929 US Ruby Red (of the Redblush variety) has the first grapefruit patent.Texas grapefruit history, TexaSweet. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
History
The fruit was first documented in 1750 by the Rev. Griffith Hughes describing specimens from Barbados.World Wide Words: Questions & Answers; Grapefruit. Abstract Currently, the grapefruit is said to be one of the "Seven Wonders of Barbados." It had developed as a hybrid of the pomelo (Citrus maxima) with the sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), though it is closer to the former. It was brought to Florida by Count Odette Philippe in 1823 in what is now known as Safety Harbor. Further crosses have produced the tangelo (1905), the minneola (1931), and the sweetie (1984). The sweetie has very small genetic and other differences from pomelo.
The grapefruit was known as the shaddock or shattuck until the 1800s, taking the name from Captain Shaddock, who introduced the pomelo to the Caribbean from Polynesia in the 17th century. Its current name alludes to clusters of the fruit on the tree, which often appear similar to grapes. Botanically, it was not distinguished from the pomelo until the 1830s, when it was given the name Citrus paradisi. Its true origins were not determined until the 1940s. This led to the official name being altered to Citrus × paradisi.Texas Citrus: Puzzling Beginnings. ArticleUniversity of Florida: IFAS Extension; The Grapefruit.
The 1929 Ruby Red patent was associated with real commercial success, which came after the discovery of a red grapefruit growing on a pink variety. Only with Ruby Red did the grapefruit transform into a real agricultural fruit. The Red grapefruit, starting from the Ruby Red, has even become a symbol fruit of Texas, where white "inferior" grapefruit were eliminated and only red grapefruit were grown for decades. Using radiation to trigger mutations, new varieties were developed to retain the red tones which typically faded to pink, with Rio Red is the current (2007) Texas grapefruit with registered trademarks Rio Star and Ruby-Sweet, also sometimes promoted as "Reddest" and "Texas Choice".
