Description

Tangerines are small and erect trees, with fruit at the end of branches, and tend to be erect (Janick 2005). The tangerine fruit is smaller than most oranges and the skin of some varieties tends to be loose and peels off more easily. The taste is often more sour, or tart, than that of an orange. Being loose-skinned, the fruit is hard to pick without damage and is the highest priced fruit (Janick 2005). The number of seeds in each segment (carpel) varies greatly (up to 59). Good quality tangerines will be firm to slightly hard, heavy for their size, and pebbly-skinned with no deep grooves, as well as reddish-orange in color.