Kumquat is native to South Asia and earliest reference is 12th century China
The only fruit you can eat skin and flesh at once, a balanced sweet and sour flavor
There are two basic varieties of Kumquat; round fruit (cold sensitive) oval fruit (cold hardy)
Evergreen tree grows 8-15′ tall, hydrophytic (can tolerate heavy, boggy soils) with few thorns
Produces hundreds of fruit every season, turns bright orange in late autumn to mid-winter
Rootstock is Poncirus trifoliata, sour orange, native to Texas

‘Nagami’ – SOUR (Fortunella margarita) Introduced in 1846 in Europe by Robert Fortune, hence the genus Fortunella.
1st Kumquat to enter North America in 1850, small tasty fruit that could be eaten whole
Much hardier than oranges, can withstand frost down to 14 degrees without injury.
The sweet skin is the delicacy on this small, oval, fruit, but eat both skin and flesh for sweet and tart flavor
Has a shorter growth period and goes dormant earlier, hence the cold hardiness.
Tart flavor used in cooking, drinks, teas, candying, or right off the tree.

‘Changshou’=’Jiangsu’=’Fukushu'(Fortunella obovata) Developed by Tanaka (1933) of Japan; hybrid of 2 Fortunella species
Larger fruit than ‘Meiwa'(size of a jumbo egg) flesh is juicy and somewhat tart
Small orange fruits have a thin skin that contains a significant amount of sugar.
One of the best container citrus plants, thornless, most frost-hardy of all of the citrus.

‘Meiwa’ SWEET (Fortunella crassifolia) best variety to eat fresh, heavy producer of short oblong, fruit
Introduced to US from Japan in 1910, Swingle determined it was a natural hybrid between oval and round kumquats (1915)
Eat fresh and whole, rather than in culinary, as it lacks the tart juice of Nagami, less cold hardy than Nagami

‘Calamondin’ -(Citrus x fortunella) Mini-Orange Tree also called Philippine Lime
Hybrid of mandarin orange and kumquat, with more characteristics of mandarin, rind not edible as in kumquats
Calamondin can be used in the kitchen instead of lime, used in mixing drinks before lime became popular
Popular as a potted plant, used in lemonade/limeade drinks, marmalade, fish and chicken dishes and cake baking
Medicinal uses: juice rubbed on insect bites to reduce inflammation and itching; acne astringent & bleaches freckles

‘Limequat’ 1909 introduction by Walter Swingle; hybrid of West Indian Lime (Key Lime) and kumquat
Small tree that has a bushy form, fruit eaten whole, OR juice and rind used in drinks, cooking
‘Eustis Limequat’ and ‘Lakeland’ are sister hybrids of Key Lime crossed with round kumquat
‘Tavares’ is a hybrid of Key Lime crossed with oval kumquat
Protect from hard frost and drying north winds