Monday, March 29, 2010

More Texas Rio Star


More Texas Rio Star grapefruit. I had so much fun painting this. All the time, wondering how grapefruit got it's name. Grapes are so tiny, and grapefruit is so big. Does anyone know why grapefruit is actually called, grapefruit? Actually, a name like, Texas Rio Star, seems like a much better choice!
Posted by Picasa

4 comments:

Delphyne said...

I like this, Nancy! I finally got a new computer, so I am catching up in the blog world. I see that you have a few entries that I haven't read yet.

As to grapefruit, this is from Wiki:

History

One ancestor was the Jamaican sweet orange (Citrus sinensis); the other was the Indonesian pomelo (Citrus maxima). Captain Shaddock brought pomelo seeds to Jamaica and bred the first fruit.[1]

The hybrid fruit was in 1750 documented by the Rev. Griffith Hughes describing specimens from Barbados.[4] Currently, the grapefruit is said to be one of the "Seven Wonders of Barbados."[5] It was brought to Florida by Count Odette Philippe in 1823 in what is now known as Safety Harbor. Further crosses have produced the tangelo (1905), the minneola (1931), and the sweetie (1984). The sweetie has very small genetic and other differences from pomelo.

The grapefruit was known as the shaddock or shattuck until the 1800s. Its current name alludes to clusters of the fruit on the tree, which often appear similar to grapes.[6] Botanically, it was not distinguished from the pomelo until the 1830s, when it was given the name Citrus paradisi. Its true origins were not determined until the 1940s. This led to the official name being altered to Citrus × paradisi.[7][8]

The 1929 Ruby Red patent was associated with real commercial success, which came after the discovery of a red grapefruit growing on a pink variety. Only with the introduction of the Ruby Red did the grapefruit transform into a real agricultural success. The Red grapefruit, starting with the Ruby Red, has even become a symbolic fruit of Texas, where white "inferior" grapefruit were eliminated and only red grapefruit were grown for decades. Using radiation to trigger mutations, new varieties were developed to retain the red tones which typically faded to pink,[9] the Rio Red variety is the current (2007) Texas grapefruit with registered trademarks Rio Star and Ruby-Sweet, also sometimes promoted as "Reddest" and "Texas Choice".

The Florida Department of Citrus stated "the primary varieties of Florida grapefruit are Ruby Red, Pink, Thompson, Marsh and Duncan. The fresh grapefruit season typically runs from October through June."[1]

Nancy B. Hartley said...

Delphyne,
Thank you, for all the info! This is more than I ever imagined about red grapefruit, and explains how it got it's name. I also stand corrected, the grapefruit that I've been painting is the red grapefruit, not the pink! Also, that is good news grapefruit season goes until June! Looking forward to more!

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

Wow. I'm glad I read this, now I know the story of the fruit! I love texas grapefruit - I wish I knew how to order them - I'd buy boxes of them!

Karen Bruson said...

Great job once again. Love everything about it...the colors, composition, and angles.