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Re: Calimancy???

Hi, I'm from the Philippines, new on this list and only half a year into
serious gardening.

The fruit referred to by Nan Sterman is locally called "kalamansi" or
sometimes "kalamunding". In "Botanica", it is listed as "x
Citrofortunella microcarpa" and has the common name of "calamondin" and
"Panama orange". In other books, it is variously referred to as "Citrus
microcarpa", "Citrus mitis", and "x Citrofortunella mitis". It is said
to be a cross between Citrus reticulata (Mandarin orange) and Fortunella
margarita (kumquat or, sometimes spelled, cumquat).

The fruit looks like a very small lime (only about 1.5" in diameter),
except that the skin is not as leathery, somewhat smoother and glossier,
and is rounder. Unlike in cool climate, it rarely turns yellow here when
ripe. It is picked when it starts to soften and is used to make juice
(often served warm as "hot calamansi" in hotels and restaurants) and as
a condiment (by itself or mixed with soy sauce or fish sauce). It is cut
into halves and the juice squeezed out. We normally don't blend it. It
is sometimes confused with the kumquat from China and Japan, which is
about the same size but orange in color when ripe, and usually eaten
whole without peeling (sometimes just the rind is the part eaten).

I saw some small calamondin plants being sold in Orchard Supply &
Hardware when I was in the San Francisco Bay Area last year. They also
had something similar called calamandon, which is somewhat different, so
don't be mistaken.

Each fruit contains up to about eight seeds (often less), so it can be
propagated by seeds. It can also be propagated by stem tip cuttings,
layering and grafting.
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