• Mandarin fruits are similar to oranges, but usually are smaller and looser skinned, making them easy to peel. The orange-colored fruit of most mandarins is juicy and sweet.

• The tangerine is the most commonly available mandarin orange. The name tangerine was an American invention coined to designate the fruit that passed mainly through the Moroccan port of Tangiers.

• The mandarin orange is considered a native of southeastern Asia and the Philippines. It is most abundantly grown in Japan, southern China, India and the East Indies. It gravitated to the Western world by small steps taken by individuals interested in certain cultivars.

• Mandarin oranges of all kinds are primarily eaten out-of-hand, or the sections are used in fruit salads, gelatins, puddings and even on cakes. Very small types are canned in syrup.

• The essential oil expressed from the peel is employed commercially in flavoring hard candy, gelatins, ice cream, chewing gum and bakery goods. It also is used to make certain perfumes. Mandarin essential oil paste is a standard flavoring for carbonated beverages.

• Mandarin oranges, with their glossy dark-green leaves, fragrant springtime blossoms and bright orange fruits, are beautiful little specimen trees in the home landscape. They may need protection from temperatures below 24 degrees for the first couple of winters. For increased protection from the cold, plant tender trees on the south side of a building.

• White flowers appear in March and April and are very fragrant, usually attracting hordes of honeybees. The fruit of most varieties matures in November and December. Mandarins tend to alternate bearing, with a heavy crop one year followed by a lighter crop the next season.

• The giant swallowtail butterfly, one of North America's largest and most spectacular butterflies, relies solely on plants in the citrus family for larval food. The caterpillar, called an "orange dog", prefers cultivars of mandarin oranges.

• The word "mandarin" can refer to the citrus fruit, a high-ranking Chinese official or the language spoken in China. Nonetheless, it's not a Chinese word.