Meet the Rutacaea

Source:https://surl.li/evtzbz

The Citrus family also go by the name rutaceae. We all know the set of fruits with sweet, sour or sweet and sour taste. They also have the distinctive feature of being divided into segments.
The common members of the family you would find in the market include: orange, tangerine, lime, lemon, grapefruit and tangelo.
While other members are satsuma, kumquat, clementine and pomelo.
These fruits even when belonging to the same family have different colors, different intensity of taste and aroma.

Source: flyermaker

Source: flyermaker.

Characteristically, citrus fruits have evergreen shrubs or trees with flowers that later germinate into the fruit. Upon disseminating any fruit member of the family, you would find

1. The peel, which gives out its unique oil and aroma
2. Segment or rather known as the fleshy wedges
3. High water content which makes up the juice of the fruit
4. Finally the seeds which are scattered around the fruit.

All foods have their benefits or nutritional role in the body, likewise fruit, with the citrus family being no exception. Being fruits gives it more advantage.
Generally, these fruits are packed with antioxidant properties which reduce the risk of inflammation in the body; they are also rich in vitamin C that plays a vital role in boosting the immunity of the body system. Lastly potassium also found its way into the fruits and on getting into the body, it aids in keeping the heart in good condition.

Cultivation.

They originated and were first grown, thousands of years back in south east Asia before webbing out to the middle east and America.
Fruits from this family would grow better in warm climates like the hot summer. And like most crops, they require well draining soil, rich in organic material.
They would grow so well in the presence of regular watering from their young stage, apart from the one gotten from the rain. Also pruning them removes excessive growth, allows flow of air, and keeps them in shape. While growing them, get suitable pesticides to keep out their common crop pests like aphids and whiteflies.

These days and now, citrus can be:

• Eaten fresh
• Used for making desserts
  *Used in juice and jam making
• Used for getting essential oils needed in perfume making.
• Used in cleaning as a result of the acid present in them
• Essential in aromatherapy
• Used in baking
• Used for flavor making.
• Used for making beverages
• An important resource in traditional medicine.

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