The first citrus fruits may have come from southern China

An in-depth genetic analysis of Citrus plants identifies where they probably originated

Wild citrus such as the Citrus trifoliata orange (shown) probably emerged in what is now south central China.

Jebulon/Wikimedia Commons

October 2, 2023 at 11:00 am

Citrus fruits’ hometown is in China, a genetic analysis suggests.

An extensive look at wild members of the orange family tree hints that the first species in the Citrus genus arose around 8 million years ago in what’s now south central China, researchers report October 2 in Nature Genetics.