The relationships within the citrus family might seem complex, but they actually follow a pattern:
Pomelo + Mandarin (Loose-skin mandarin) → Orange
Oranges resemble mandarins but have the hard-to-peel skin of a pomelo.
Citron + Orange → Lemon
Lemons inherited the orange's difficult-to-peel skin and the citron's sour, bitter taste.
Orange + Mandarin (Loose-skin mandarin) → Tangerine
Tangerines look almost identical to mandarins, but their skin is thicker due to the influence of the orange.
Orange + Pomelo → Grapefruit
Grapefruits look very similar to pomelos but inherited the orange's sweet fragrance.
Besides hybridization, the citrus family has another secret to propagation: bud mutation. It's like nature's "genetic lottery," always keeping the family full of surprises.
Bud mutation is a form of somatic mutation in plants.
