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World of CitrusWorld of CitrusIndio Mandarinquat
Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection at UCR
https://citrusvariety.ucr.edu/crc3759 (opens in a new tab)
UCR's CRC 3759 / PI 539726 / VI 335 accession record says the budwood was received from the United States Date & Citrus Station in Indio in 1972. Its cited VI spec sheet describes an open-pollinated seedling from an old Nagami tree at UCLA and says the pollen parent is unknown; an EMN note separately reports that John Carpenter said USDCS 61-298 was a Nagami seedling grown from Florida. The collection record therefore does not establish mandarin pollen or a 50/50 pedigree.
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Geri Wohl, CNC · Sigona's Farmers Market · 2015-01-27 (updated 2019-01-24)
The article calls Indio mandarinquat a cross of mandarin and kumquat and describes produce about twice a kumquat's size, round and tapering at the neck, with thin deep-orange edible peel, sweet aroma and peel balanced by tart flesh. It mentions specialty-market availability and culinary uses. This is a general consumer/market description with no accession, specimen, method, or verified parent identities; its origin wording (“Indio, CA near UCLA”) is vague and does not resolve the UCR accession history.
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JoeReal; eyeckr · Citrus Growers Forum · 2007-12-07
http://citrusgrowersstatic.chez.com/web/viewtopic0b02-2.php (opens in a new tab)
Informal Indio fruit comments: JoeReal (Davis, California) says he samples batches at peak, likes Indio flavor, usually eats the rind and leaves the flesh, and ranks whole-fruit taste behind Meiwa and ahead of Nagami; he describes Nagami-like fruit with truly sour flesh and plentiful rind. eyeckr (Virginia Beach, Virginia) says Indio is more tart than Nippon Orangequat, whose flavor is more mandarin-like, and wonders whether longer ripening might improve it. Subjective impressions; no accession, harvest stage details, or method. Relevant locators: JoeReal, 2007-12-07 4:27 am and 4:30 am; eyeckr, 2007-12-09 1:14 pm.
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brian (thread starter); Millet; mrtexas; Bush2Beach · Tropical Fruit Forum · 2016-02-21
https://www.tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=19269.0 (opens in a new tab)
Reports vary by poster and specimen. brian says the first fruit was picked 2016-02-21 and describes decent juice/pulp with thin, dry skin having little to no flavor or sweetness. mrtexas calls Indio sour with lots of sour juice. Millet says he believes Indio originated as a seedling from an old Nagami at UCLA; this is expressly belief. Bush2Beach later reports liking Indio and says it fruits more and twice a year. Taste and fruiting are informal; growing conditions and maturity differ or are mostly unreported. Locators: #msg239445, #msg239449, #msg239453, #msg315569 (2018-03-27).
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Johnsgard · Growing Fruit · 2025-11-29
https://growingfruit.org/t/show-off-your-homegrown-citrus-fruits/68684/255 (opens in a new tab)
Johnsgard reports on a cutting-grown Indio tree in the ground at The Woodlands, north of Houston: about 10 years old and 7 ft, with reported yield around 15–20 lb/year in 2–3 flowering flushes. Fruit is described as golf-ball size, juicy and seedy, quite tart like calamondin, with thin sweet peel; the main crop ripens late November through December and is used for marmalade, stewed sauce, and ‘lime’ pies. Tree was covered with a tarp during freezes below 20°F; this is not a survival threshold. The post also gives an Orlando-under-Nagami history account that conflicts with UCR’s accession record. Single-tree and grower-reported context; no measured taste values.
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JoeReal; eyeckr · Citrus Growers Forum · 2005-12-04
http://citrusgrowersstatic.chez.com/web/viewtopicb803-3.php (opens in a new tab)
Informal reports: JoeReal (Davis, California) describes Indio fruit as mandarin-sized, with fruit at different stages suggesting a prolonged harvest, and says the rind is very sweet while flesh is very sour, possibly twice as sour as Nagami by his impression and less sour than calamondin; he calls the rind plentiful. eyeckr (Virginia Beach, Virginia) says Indio is more sour than Meiwa and Nagami, has a fair number of seeds and spicy peel, and describes the plant as ornamental and prolific. Taste is subjective and comparative, not measured; sample and maturity details are limited. Relevant posts: JoeReal, 2005-12-04 8:19 pm and 2006-02-05 3:51 am; eyeckr, 2006-02-05 3:58 am.
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gerdhart; replies by rakkham and others · Agrumes-Passion · 2012-02-05
https://www.agrumes-passion.com/viewtopic.php?t=2752 (opens in a new tab)
gerdhart reports U.S.-origin Indio fruit bought at a Geneva grocery: egg-sized and egg-shaped with a small neck; thin, sweet, non-bitter, fragrant peel; very little or nearly absent albedo; and very acidic juice that seemed slightly sweeter and fruitier after a few days in the refrigerator while remaining pleasant. Sample count, supplier label, harvest date, and maturity are unknown. Replies include a disputed satsumquat identification and a recalled −12°C hardiness claim; neither is verified, and gerdhart questions the identity. Locators: #p31477 (2012-02-05), #p31543, #p31549, #p32104, #p32165 (through 2012-02-22).
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Seattle Figs · YouTube · 2019-11-09
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjmwEox6xjE (opens in a new tab)
Summary from transcript: The speaker describes a fall harvest picked October 8, says the tree is still producing fruit in different stages, and notes this fruit is smaller than the summer fruit. For this sample, the speaker mentions sweet skin, a few seeds, and tart flesh, and says they enjoy the skin. Captions are imperfect and render “Indio” as “indigo”; the cultivar context comes from the video title. One speaker’s sample report, without measurements; October 8 is reported without a year.
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Seattle Figs · YouTube · 2019-03-24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8zdEeKRWvU (opens in a new tab)
Summary from transcript: The speaker describes a summer-harvest mandarinquat sample as bell-shaped and over 2 inches long by spoken estimate, with thick peel and a few seeds; the speaker says the flesh is “not too tart” and reacts positively to the fruit. Caption recognition is imperfect; dimensions and taste are the speaker’s impressions, not measurements. One sample; no objective ripeness or growing conditions stated.
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Weird Explorer · YouTube · 2021-03-10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcAxn-fGZHk (opens in a new tab)
Summary from transcript: At 9:20–10:36 the narrator tastes half an Indio mandarinquat, describes it as milder than the preceding Fukushu sample, and compares the interior flavor to orange, mandarin, and lemon. The video identifies the fruit as supplied by the CRFG Monterey Bay chapter at 0:35. This is one sample and a sequence-specific comparison; it does not verify parentage.
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