Kumquat Fortunella sp. Swingle - Nagami Kumquat Trees

Kumquats have been called "the little gems of the citrus family". They were included in the genus Citrus until about 1915 when Dr. Walter T. Swingle set them apart in the genus Fortunella, which embraces six Asiatic species. The common name, which has been spelled cumquat, or comquot, means "gold orange" in China. The Japanese equivalent is kin kan or kin kit for the round type, too kin kan, for the oval type. In Southeast Asia, the round is called kin, kin kuit, or kuit xu, and the oval, chu tsu or chantu. In Brazil, the trade name may be kumquat, kunquat, or laranja de ouro, dos orientais.

Fig. 45: Nagami, or Oval, kumquat (Fortunella margarita) (left); and Marumi, or Round, kumquat (F. japonica) (right).

Description

The kumquat tree is slow-growing, shrubby, compact, 8 to 15 ft (2.4-4.5 m) tall, the branches light-green and angled when young, thornless or with a few spines. The apparently simple leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 1 1/4 to 3 3/8 in (3.25-8.6 cm) long, finely toothed from the apex to the middle, dark-green, glossy above, lighter beneath. Sweetly fragrant, 5-parted, white flowers are borne singly or 1 to 4 together in the leaf axils. The fruit is oval-oblong or round, 5/8 to 1 1/2 in (1.6-4 cm) wide; peel is golden-yellow to reddish-orange, with large, conspicuous oil glands, fleshy, thick, tightly clinging, edible, the outer layer spicy, the inner layer sweet; the pulp is scant, in 3 to 6 segments, not very juicy, acid to subacid; contains small, pointed seeds or sometimes none; they are green within.

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