View source for Kumquat

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Rutaceae
|genus=Citrus
|species=japonica
|common_name=Kumquat
|habit=tree
|lifespan=perennial
|exposure=sun
|water=moist, moderate
|features=evergreen, fragrance, edible, fruit, houseplant
|flowers=white, single
|Temp Metric=°F
|image=Kumquat.jpeg
|image_width=180
|image_caption=Malayan Kumquat foliage and fruit
}}
'''Kumquats''' or '''cumquats''' are a group of small [[fruit]]-bearing [[tree]]s in the [[flowering plant]] family [[Rutaceae]], either forming the genus ''Fortunella'', or placed within ''[[Citrus]] [[sensu lato]]''. The edible fruit closely resembles that of the [[Orange (fruit)|orange]] (''Citrus sinensis''), but it is much smaller and ovular, being approximately the size and shape of an [[olive]].

They are slow-growing [[evergreen]] [[shrub]]s or short trees, from {{convert|2.5|to|4.5|m|ft|0}} tall, with sparse branches, sometimes bearing small [[Spine (botany)|thorn]]s. The [[leaf|leaves]] are dark glossy green, and the [[flower]]s white, similar to other citrus flowers, borne singly or clustered in the leaf-[[axil]]s. The kumquat tree produces 30 to 50 fruit each year.{{Dubious|date=March 2010}} The tree can be [[Aquatic plant|hydrophytic]], with the fruit often found floating on water near shore during the ripe season.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}

The plant is native to [[south Asia]] and the [[Asia-Pacific]]. The earliest historical reference to kumquats appears in literature of [[China]] in the 12th century. They have long been cultivated in [[Japan]], [[Taiwan]], the [[Philippines]] and [[southeast Asia]]. They  were introduced to [[Europe]] in 1846 by [[Robert Fortune]], collector for the [[London Horticultural Society]], and shortly thereafter into [[North America]].

{{Inc|
Fortunella japonica, Swingle (Citrus japonica, Thunb.). Round Kumquat. Marumi Kumquat. A much-branched shrub with very short spines or none: differs from F. margarita in the broader and blunter pointed smaller lvs., 1 3/5-4 x 3/5 - 12/5 in., paler and veinless below, round frs. 5/6 - 1 in. diam., not showing any persistent rudiment of the style, and usually with 5-6 segms.: seeds small, 3 ½ -5 x 3-3 ½ x 2-2 ½ lines, oval, blunt-pointed, the empty testa not projecting beyond the end of the embryo. —The round kumquat is perhaps the most handsome of the citrus frs. because of its dwarf habit, much-branched twigs, and small, bright orange-colored frs.
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