Spain is widely known for its citrus fruits, and those who live here are spoiled with sun-ripened citrus straight from the tree most of the year. Of course, you know the names of most of them, from orange and mandarin to lemon, grapefruit and lime. But do you know Buddha’s hand and pomelo? The names of the family’s lesser known members remind us that citrus is not a native of Spain, but has traveled far and wide to get here. Citrus has a millennial (long) history associated with ancient trade routes, powerful empires, war and conquest.
The world’s most valuable fruit
Citrus is today the world trade’s most valuable fruit. About 116 million tons of citrus are traded each year, according to UNCTAD, the United Nations Trade and Development Organization. Spain is a major producer: almost six million tons of healthy fruit are grown and sold every year. But still the country ends up sixth on the list of the world’s largest citrus growers.
You might not have guessed which country is the world’s largest citrus producer. It is in fact Brazil with almost 21 million tons per year. But: The Iberian Peninsula has historically had a hand in developing three of the world’s five largest citrus producers. More about that a little later.
Did you know that China is the second largest producer of citrus fruits? Perhaps hard to believe based on the selection in local supermarkets here in the western world. The reason is that Chinese authorities have introduced high tariffs to prevent exports of the fruit – and that from one of the areas where the citrus actually originates. For yes, citrus originates in Southeast Asia, specifically subtropical and tropical areas south of the eastern Himalayas.
How did citrus cultivation spread from Southeast Asia to the Iberian Peninsula and beyond? It’s an exciting story. Researchers have tracked the route through archeological excavations, analysis of pollen, seeds and various other plant remains, as well as through written sources, coins, murals, sculptures and other artistic expressions.
The Citron
Citron is the term for the fruit the researchers believe may have been the, or one of the, original citruses. You can find varieties of citron at markets here on Costa Blanca if you look around a bit.
In Latin it is called citrus medica, and the name reflects the fruit’s many good health effects. In addition to containing a number of antioxidants that can help prevent health problems from cardiovascular disease and cancer to sun damage to the skin, lemon and all citrus contain a lot of vitamin C and dietary fiber. It is also a source of calcium, potassium, vitamin A and folate. In early times, the lemon was not without reason taxed for its medicinal properties.
The citron is an aromatic citrus fruit. Archaeologists and botanists have managed to trace what they believe is the first systematic cultivation of citron to lands that today belong to India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar – all countries where Buddhism has stood or still stands strong. A sensational citron variant is called Buddha’s Hand. Sometimes you can find it in the outdoor markets here as well. Citrus medica sarcodactylis is its name in Latin, it is a variety of citron with finger-like growths which some might say looks like a bright yellow squid.
Regardless of appearance, different citron varieties have a thick skin and hardly any flesh compared to what we are used to in its more famous relatives. Find Your Spain experienced this when trying to make jam from the Buddha’s Hand – it was rather dry stuff compared to the jam we normally make and eat, more like candied citrus peel (which can be really good, but not on a slice of bread). But: it makes a great impression on a fruit platter!
Trade and military campaigns
So how did the citron, the «original citrus», make its way from the Indian subcontinent to Europe? Traders probably brought it from China, via India to Persia and then to the eastern Mediterranean. Remains of citron have been found in a 2,500-year-old Persian-style garden in Jerusalem.
The legendary Greek-Macedonian army commander Alexander the Great and his troops probably also played a role in the spread of the citrus fruit. At just thirty years of age, in the year 326 BC, Alexander had conquered lands that constituted one of the greatest empires of antiquity. The kingdom of the legendary commander stretched from Greece to Egypt and into northwestern India and present-day Pakistan.
As often happens in history, war has an impact on the spread of various plants. Plants are not infrequently part of the spoils of war. New varieties often contribute to increased prosperity in the home country, and seeds and plant parts are easy to carry over large distances.
Citrus was initially mainly available to the elite in Greek and Roman lands around the Mediterranean. Researchers have found pollen and other plant remains from citron in gardens belonging to wealthy families in both Pompeii and Rome. The expansion of the Roman Empire to the west, including the Iberian Peninsula, eventually also brought the lemon to this region.
Lemon – the yellow citrus fruit we all know – is the next citrus fruit to make its entry into Europe. We know that lemon was grown in Rome before year zero. For more than 1,000 years, however, citrons and lemons remained virtually the sole citrus fruits in Europe. They were seen as medicinal plants and used in religious ceremonies, but were also valued for their beautiful fragrance. They were nevertheless relatively rare, and therefore expensive and mainly reserved for the elite.
But around the tenth century, there was a boom in both the number of varieties and the cultivation of citrus around the Mediterranean. The sour orange (also called Citrus aurantium or Sevilla orange), the lime (Citrus aurantifolia) and the huge pomelo (Citrus maxima) make their entrance. The many new varieties came with invading Muslim troops from North Africa to Sicily and the Iberian Peninsula. The Muslims had by this time expanded from their origins in the cities of Mecca and Medina and controlled large tracts of land and trade routes all the way from India in the east to the western Mediterranean. Therefore they had access to many different kinds of citrus, such as the ones mentioned above.
Sour orange, you might say, does not sound very good. But the sour or bitter orange is highly valued to this day. The English, for example, still prefer the bitter Seville orange in their traditional marmalade. Actually, almost all of this citrus fruit production is sold to customers in the British Isles.
From the Iberian Peninsula to the New World
It will be about 500 more years before Europeans become acquainted with what is today the most popular citrus fruit: the sweet orange (Citrus sinensis). It first comes west from its countries of origin in the late 15th century and in the early 16th century with the great explorers. Traders from the Italian city-state of Genoa and Portuguese explorers brought it home.
Shortly after (relatively speaking), adventurous people from the Iberian Peninsula brought citrus west to the New World. Today, three of the countries Columbus and his contemporaries “discovered” are on the list of the world’s five largest citrus producers: Brazil (the world’s largest citrus producer), the United States (number 3) and Mexico (number 4). Number five on the list, by the way, is India, historically a hub for the spread of today’s most important fruit.
Next time you bite into your favorite citrus, you know a little more about where the fruit comes from and how it got here!
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