Plant · P-421

Kumquat

Citrus japonica

Kumquat fruit is eaten whole, skin and all - the peel is sweet and the flesh tart, which reverses how every other citrus works. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree from China and Japan, and among the most cold-hardy of the true citrus, though sustained hard freezes still call for container culture and a spot under cover for winter. The fruit is eaten raw, candied, or turned into marmalade and jelly since it carries unusually high pectin, and the leaves and twigs yield a fragrant oil used in perfumery.