Amarillo, Arbi, Avana Apireno, Avana di Palermo, Avana di Paterno, Avana, Ba Ahmed, Baladi, Belady, Beldi, Beledi, Blida, Bodrum, China, Chino, Clemendor, Commune, Comun, de Bah Ahmed, de Blidah, de Nice, de Provence, de Situbal, de Valence, di Palermo, di Paterno, Gallego, Havana of Palermo, Havana, Italian, Koino, Médélina Arbi, Mexecira, Mexirica do Rio, Palermo, Paterno, Salteñita, Setubal, Setubalense, Stredozemni, Thorny, Valencia, Willow Leaf, Willowleaf, Yerli (sec. Cottin 2002)
Citrus reticulata Blanco (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967, Mabberley 1997, 2004); Citrus deliciosa Ten. (sensu Tenaka sec. Cottin 2002)
Hodgson (1967) noted that:
"...there is considerable reason for concluding that the Mediterranean mandarin, as the name indicates, originated under cultivation in Europe, presumably in Italy.
That the mandarin had reached the Mediterranean basin somewhat earlier seems likely, however, for Risso and Poiteau (1818-22) mention a "mandarin orange" which had been known there "for some years" and Chapot (1962) assigns the date of origin of the Mediterranean mandarin as between 1810 and 1815.
The first known successful introduction is said to have been made by the Italian consul at New Orleans between 1840 and 1850 and consisted of the Mediterranean mandarin, which came to be known as Willowleaf in this country (sometimes erroneously called China)."
Crown compact or dense, not weeping. First-year twig surface glabrous; second- or third-year twig surface striate; thorns absent or not persistent; prickles absent or not persistent. Petiole glabrous, length short or medium; wings absent, if present, narrow, adjoining the blade. Leaflets one, margin bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly conduplicate. Scent of crushed leaflets sweetly orange-like. Fruit broader than long; rind yellow (7-10), yellow-orange (11), orange (12), or red-orange (13); rind texture slightly rough (4-5); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh orange; taste acidic-sweet.
Hodgson (1967) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar: "This is the common mandarin of the Mediterranean basin which is known by many names, most of them local place names that refer to its origin as native or are synonyms of the word common. According to Chapot (1962), among the principal place names are Ba Ahmed (Morocco), Blida, Boufarik and Bougie (Algeria), Bodrum (Turkey), Paterno and Palermo (Italy), Nice and Provence (France), Valencia (Spain), and Setúbal (Portugal). Synonyms for common or native are commune (French), comun (Spanish), gallego (Portuguese), koina (Greek), yerli (Turkish), and beladi (various spellings) for Arabic. Other names include Effendi or Yousef Effendi (Egypt and the Near East), Avana or Speciale (Italy), Thorny (Australia), Mexirica or Do Rio (Brazil), and Chino or Amarillo (Mexico). In the United States, it is known as the Mediterranean or Willowleaf mandarin."
Hodgson (1967) additionally noted that: "The excessively numerous names by which this mandarin is known are misleading since they suggest the probable existence of a number of varieties. Such is not the case, however, for Chapot (1962) has been unable to find differences between them in collections assembled in Morocco. Comparisons in California between Baladi (Egypt), Avana (Italy), Comun (Spain), and Ba Ahmed (Morocco) have shown no differences except those to be expected between old and young (seedling) clonal lines."
Chapot, H. 1962. La mandarine commune. Al Awamia [Rabat] 5:29–51.
Cottin, R. 2002. Citrus of the World: A citrus directory. Version 2.0. France: SRA INRA-CIRAD.
Hodgson, R.W. 1967. Horticultural varieties of Citrus. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry, rev. University of California Press. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter4.html.
Risso, J.A. and A. Poiteau. 1818-22. Histoire naturelle des orangers. Audot, Paris. 280 pp.
Swingle, W.T. and P.C. Reece. 1967. The botany of Citrus and its wild relatives. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry. Ed. 2. Vol. I. University of California, Riverside. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html.
Search for this cultivar in NCBI Entrez or NCBI Nucleotide
Additional information on this cultivar at University of California: Riverside Citrus Variety Collection (Avana Apireno)
Citrus ID Edition 2
October, 2011
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