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grapefruit
(redirected from Pomeloes)

   Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
grapefruit, pomelo (pŏm`əlō), or pummelo (pum`məlō), citrus fruit citrus fruits, widely used edible fruits of plants belonging to Citrus and related genera of the family Rutaceae ( orange family). Included are the tangerine, citrange, tangelo, orange, pomelo, grapefruit , lemon , lime , citron , and kumquat .
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 (Citrus paradisi) of the family Rutaceae (orange orange, name for a tree of the family Rutaceae ( rue , or orange, family), native to China and Indochina, and for its fruit, the most important fresh fruit of international commerce.
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 family). The grapefruit is so named because it grows in grapelike bunches. The large globular fruit weighs from 1 to 5 lb (0.45–2.27 kg). It is believed that the progenitor of the grapefruit was the pomelo (C. maxima), native to and long a popular fruit in India and other parts of Asia. The pomelo (also called shaddock, for the man who first took it to England as a curiosity) was introduced into the West Indies, where it is thought that a seedling sport or mutation resulted in the grapefruit. Brought to Florida in 1809, the grapefruit had become an important commercial product of that state by the turn of the century. It is now grown in many varieties—chiefly in Florida, Texas, and California in the United States and also in some Mediterranean countries. The tree, an attractive evergreen, is usually propagated by budding. Like other citruses, it is prey to frost and hybridizes easily; the tangelo is a cross between the grapefruit and the tangerine. Grapefruits are classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta (măg'nōlēŏf`ətə)
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, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.

grapefruit

Enlarge picture
Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi).
(credit: Grant Heilman Photography)
Tree (Citrus paradisi) of the rue family and its edible fruit. It originated in the West Indies (probably Jamaica) before being brought to the New World mainland. The shiny, dark green foliage is very dense. The large white flowers are borne singly or in clusters. Lemon-yellow when ripe, the fruit is 4–6 in. (100–150 mm) in diameter, about twice as large as a medium-size orange. The mildly acidic pulp—juicy and light yellowish, pink, or red—is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is popular as breakfast fruit in various parts of the world.


grapefruit
1. a tropical or subtropical cultivated evergreen rutaceous tree, Citrus paradisi
2. the large round edible fruit of this tree, which has yellow rind and juicy slightly bitter pulp

grapefruit [′grāp‚früt]
(botany)
Citrus paradisi.An evergreen tree with a well-rounded top cultivated for its edible fruit, a large, globose citrus fruit characterized by a yellow rind and white, pink, or red pulp.


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