Citrus deliciosa 'Bombajensis'
PALERMO BOTANICAL GARDENS
page created 17th July 2009
This is the fruit normally called mandarin, but I can find no reference to the variety 'Bombajensis' except to suggest the variety originated in the Indian city of Bombay.
The mandarin is believed to have been introduced into Europe by way of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, England, and the island of Malta, about 1805. The species reached Sicily some time in the following ten years, and soon became a major commercial crop.
I am not sure whether the tree I photographed was the one claimed to be from the first introduction into Sicily.