Calamondin

Calamondin

The Calamondin is a natural hybrid of the kumquat and the mandarin. It most likely originated in southern China and has been grown for centuries throughout Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, where it is called calamansi, it is the country’s most important citrus fruit and a daily kitchen staple. It was brought to Florida in the early 1900s, where it quickly became popular as an ornamental and container plant.

The fruit is small, about one inch across, round, and bright orange when ripe, though it is often picked green for cooking. The thin rind is sweet and edible like a kumquat’s, while the juice is very sour and aromatic, with a flavor somewhere between lime and tangerine. Calamondin juice is used much like lime juice: squeezed over fish, noodles, and rice dishes, mixed into marinades and dipping sauces, or sweetened for calamansi juice and marmalade. The tree has small, glossy leaves and a dense, upright shape, and fragrant white blossoms appear several times a year.

At North Florida Citrus Nursery, our Calamondin trees are a favorite for their compact size, cold toughness, and nearly year-round fruiting. They thrive in the ground or in containers on a patio.

Growing quirk: The tree often carries flowers, green fruit, and ripe fruit at the same time, which makes it as ornamental as it is productive.