Ponkan
Encyclopedia
Ponkan ('Chinese Honey Orange')– is a member of the tangerine
Tangerine
__notoc__The tangerine is an orange-colored citrus fruit which is closely related to the Mandarin orange . Taxonomically, it should probably be formally named as a subspecies or variety of Citrus reticulata; further work seems to be required to ascertain its correct scientific name...
family, but its fruits are the size of oranges
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
. The fruit is round and around 7-8 cm wide in size.
The city of Teresópolis
Teresópolis
Teresópolis is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in a mountainous region known as Região Serrana. The Serra dos Órgãos National Park lies partly within the city limits.-History:...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
holds an annual Ponkan festival.
Ponkan cultivation in the USA
It was originally introduced to the United States by Reverend Barrington of Melrose, Florida, about 1880. His original grove is still in production, and under the care of Marion Holder near Hawthorne in Putnam county. The fruit is still very popular in the Melrose area, and often sold at roadside stands there. Trees can be propagated by seed, as they breed true, or grafted onto other rootstocks, trifoliate orange being the most popular. Andrew Willis, of Apopka, FloridaApopka, Florida
Apopka is a city located in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,969 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2006, the city grew to 53,563. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Apopka is an Indian word for “Potato...
, promoted the Ponkan heavily in the early 1900s. The fruit is very sweet. Trees are heavy bearing every other year, and sometimes the limbs break due to the heavy yields. Growers resort to propping the limbs up with sticks at times, though if the limb bends gradually down and grows in that position it will do better in future years. "R.C. Pitman, Jr., of Apopka, Florida, organized the Florida Ponkan Corporation in 1948, served as its President, and has continuously promoted the culture of this delicious fruit. "http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mandarin_orange.html