Citrus Paradisi – Grapefruit

This is a tree from the Rutaceae family, grown for its fruit – the grapefruit or pink grapefruit. It is a hybrid, which probably came about when the pomelo and sweet orange randomly crossed (Citrus × sinensis) in the plantations in the Caribbean round about the 17th century.

An evergreen tree, reaching heights of 5 to 6 metres, it has a round top, its branches are not particularly dense and it also has a wide bole, reaching several feet in diameter. The young branches have short thorns with flexible leaf axils. The leaves can be simple, alternate, ovate, and finely serrated, measuring between 7 and 15 cm in length. They are dark green with a leathery texture, and are found at the end of short bladed petioles. It produces hermaphrodite flowers in small bunches or individually, and these are fragrant, tetramer, and white or purplish in colour.