Citrus: A World History — a Review
A history of Citrus around the world can be found in archives and libraries. These collections are comprised of historical drawings, illustrations, paintings, and the more modern posters and advertisements, and of course many texts preserved in copies in Arabic of Greco-Roman philosophers, the European herbals of the Middle Ages and forward to modern times. Two fruit trees, originating in semi-tropical China, or India, and the Southeast Asian islands are known to be the parents of the many citrus we’ve enjoyed in our lifetimes.
That’s why I would die to be a page* in the historical archives of botanical drawings of citrus. Not only to see those beautiful works in person, but the backstory of the fruit, with botanical drawings to hand, or, gloved hands, would be seriously thrilling moments, for an archives page.
Such a backstory is possible interpreted by master researcher and storyteller, David Mabberley. My descriptive review of the book, highlighting some of the delight experienced while reading it, follows.
Citrus, a World History by David J. Mabberley, 2024, is an account of the fruit, how it was advanced by the wealthy and literate classes first in Asia, and later in Europe. Upon reaching the Americas, citrus was developed by scientific effort, planned for results as it was in Europe’s Middle Ages, but on a large scale.
If you believe you know all there is to know about citrus, be your version an orange, a lemon, or grapefruit, you’d be surprised to know that none of the three are natural citrus fruits, but all three were designed or cultivated as combinations of the 18 chromosomes present in all citrus fruit reproductive parts.
In a very broad sweep of the effect that citrus mania had/has on us, read Mabberley’s accounts of all things related to the development of citrus worldwide. Amidst trade, and cultivating the fruit for commerce, medicine making, cooking, visual arts, poetry, and communication, you have a 360 degree view of how much influence a fruit can have on us as the human species. And surely, to our great benefit.
Fruit Trees for the Europeans
The Chinese had been delighted with citrus for hundreds of years before trading them with foreign interests. It was the Mandarin, the small orange-colored fruit, that they were first familiar with. And the citron, a lemon-precursor, may have been sourced from India. Mabberley recounts the word “citrus” had linguistic beginnings in Sanskrit, transferred to Hindi then to Arabic.
Then, beginning about the 1500s, the first citrus trees began arriving in northern Europe on ships sailing from the exotic Far East. The landed and prosperous classes had the idea of possessing and reproducing the fruit themselves, which would necessarily be grown in the relatively cold climates on their estates.
That’s how enterprising horticulturalists seized the opportunity to grow the trees indoors in specially designed structures, a challenge then met by architects who were eager to get in on the action. Recording these events, botanical artists captured the beauty and range of citrus types as they appeared, as they grew. A fever of showmanship ensued that would replace even the apple as a favorite fruit.
Citrus continued travelling the world, assisted not only by animals dispersing its seeds, but more profitably by human endeavor. In the crush of citrus mania that ensued, the scope of knowledge about the fruit increased, and its capacity to be cultivated, also. Terms relating to Citrus gave deeper meaning to colors and culture like no other fruit. And citrus would find welcome in every port, and later, exploitation of every type.
Fruits of Labor or Culture
We think the word “cultivated” is about crossbreeding, especially of the Mandarin and Pomelo. The two species were selected to help evolve new fruit types: the orange, lemon, and grapefruit among them.
Viewing the history of the citrus and the impact the fruit has on our language, cuisines, health and medicines, artwork, advertising, socialization, and so on—is dizzying. All due to the presence of delicious fruit in our midst, fruits that as we know them can not be found in the wild.
“The story of citrus epitomizes … the living world.”
— Introduction
At the end of the story of citrus, Mabberley points to a question that may plague botanists now and in the future. It concerns the fact that two different citruses exist in the wild: one from mainland China, and another from an archipelago in the South Seas. And, it reveals the rather alarming situation that Mandarin-inherited citrus face, that of a disease that has no cure, HLB (huanlongbing). or the green-fruit disease. This is a bacteria that once taking hold, reduces the sweetness of citrus fruit to a bitterness that cannot be tolerated, or called a fruit.
Mabberley asks, if the Mandarin citrus, the citrus from China, had not become a world traveler, then would the South Seas cousin of the fruit have become more prominent? Or, having a more stable gene pool and more resistance to disease, would the citrus cousin be the reliable fruit crop, now and into the future?
By crafting such an attractive book, the author’s judicious treatment of technicalities becomes coffee-table fare—fascinating reading that might spark conversations. There is much to know about the life of citrus and the human fascination with the fruit.
In many ways, Citrus, a World History is a keepsake of the glorious days of the fruit in the past 2500 years of its/our history. Perhaps even longer, when we’ll know the entire story.
“The story of citrus epitomizes … the living world.”
— Introduction
NOTES:
Page: an archives page, similar to a library page, in that the archives page physically goes into the collections to retrieve material that is requested — presumably from a register or catalog of holdings–by the archives patron. In real time.
Title of the Book Reviewed Above:
Citrus: a World History by David J. Mabberley, 2024. Published by Thames & Hudson. xxx pages, illustrations, photographs; notes, bibliography.
Illustrations in the book were photographed as pages and are shown above to display the quality of the text: it has an artisanal feel with its matte paper.
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