Satsuma

The satsuma, Citrus unshiu is a citrus species of Japanese origin, known as unshiu mikan (Japanese: unshū mikan) in Japan.

It is commonly called mikan in Japan, satsuma mandarin in the United States and the UK, and clementine or tangerine in Canada. It is less commonly called satsuma tangerine or satsuma orange.

Its fruit is sweet and usually seedless, about the size of a mandarin orange (citrus reticulata), smaller than an orange. The skin can be peeled easily. The tree is believed to have originated from a mutation in Japan, recorded as early as 1429 [1].

In the UK, mikan are commonly eaten at Christmas. In Canada, they are a popular snack at any time of the year, and fruit grown in Morocco are commonly sold in supermarkets.

Doctor Who references

• Followng his victory over the Sycorax leader in a sword fight, the Tenth Doctor found an satsuma in his pocket and threw it against a switch on the hull of the Sycorax vessel. The Sycorax leader, who, in violation of the rules of combat, was about to come up behind the Doctor and kill him, found the hull under his feet opening up, and fell thousands of feet to his death ("The Christmas Invasion)."

• Like all citrus fruits, satsumas are rich in citric acid, a precursor to vitamin C. As such, they would not have been on the menu for Cessair of Diplos, for whom citric acid was toxic, a fact discovered by Romana and Professor Rumford during the events of "The Stones of Blood."

See also orange .

External links

• The Satsuma Tangerine - University of Florida
• PLANTanswers - Texas Cooperative Extension