Oh my darling...

[johnson]

I know the holidays are approaching when Clementines make their first appearance (well, them and Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale–but I digress). Is there any way to tell which are seedless? Brand, if nothing else? I’d buy three or four of the little cases at a time, but last year I got screwed several times when they ended up with seeds in them. Price may have been the tip-off, although it was towards the end of the season and they may have just been trying to get rid of them. So I see them for the first time this year, at $5.99 a case, and only get one figuring they must have seeds. Lo and behold, not one seed amongst them. Again, any way to tell?

And by the way, my supposition is that these are Mandarin oranges–is that correct?

[Shiva]

From: http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/AGENCY/PUBNS/FARMNOTE/1996/F00496.HTM

Citrus reticulata or Common mandarin has an extremely wide selection of varieties, including natural and man-made hybrids, for example, Clementine (Spanish seedless), Dancy tangerine, Ellendale tangor (orange-mandarin hybrid) and Minneola tangelo (grapefruit-mandarin hybrid).

Clementine varieties are in limited supply in the nurseries.They are reputedly seedless if grown in isolation from seedy varieties. They can have very high seed numbers (over 25 per fruit) if planted near Valencia oranges or other mandarins with high seed counts

From: http://newcrop.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mandarin_orange.html

The mandarin orange is considered a native of south-eastern Asia and the Philippines. It is most abundantly grown in Japan, southern China, India, and the East Indies, and is esteemed for home consumption in Australia. It gravitated to the western world by small steps taken by individuals interested in certain cultivars. Therefore, the history of its spread can be roughly traced in the chronology of separate introductions. Two varieties from Canton were taken to England in 1805. They were adopted into cultivation in the Mediterranean area and, by 1850, were well established in Italy. Sometime between 1840 and 1850, the ‘Willow-leaf’ or ‘China Mandarin’ was imported by the Italian Consul and planted at the Consulate in New Orleans. It was carried from there to Florida and later reached California. The ‘Owari’ Satsuma arrived from Japan, first in 1876 and next in 1878, and nearly a million budded trees from 1908 to 1911 for planting in the Gulf States. Six fruits of the ‘King’ mandarin were sent from Saigon in 1882 to a Dr. Magee at Riverside, California. The latter sent 2 seedlings to Winter Park, Florida. Seeds of the ‘Oneco’ mandarin were obtained from India by the nurseryman, P.W. Reasoner, in 1888. In 1892 or 1893, 2 fruits of ‘Ponkan’ were sent from China to J.C. Barrington of McMeskin, Florida, and seedlings from there were distributed and led to commercial propagation.