The Nobleman Retort | -clymenia-

DNA barcoding confirmed it: the lost Nobleman’s Retort.

Unlike the common orange ( Citrus sinensis ) or lemon ( Citrus limon ), which are hybrids of older species, Clymenia is believed to be a —or close to it. Native specifically to the islands of Palau, the Bismarck Archipelago, and parts of New Guinea, the Clymenia fruit is small, resembling a tangerine, but with a distinct neck or "nipple" at the apex. The Nobleman Retort -Clymenia-

However, the fruit known commercially as "The Nobleman Retort -Clymenia-" is not the wild variety. It is a specific, cultivated polyploid (a plant with more than two sets of chromosomes) selected for one purpose: Part 2: The Legend of the "Retort" Why "Retort"? The word has two meanings, both of which apply to this fruit. DNA barcoding confirmed it: the lost Nobleman’s Retort

This is where the legend gets juicy. According to horticultural lore (recorded in the 19th-century journal Revue Horticole ), a French nobleman at the court of Versailles was served a bitter, unripe orange by a political rival hoping to humiliate him. Instead of spitting it out, the nobleman smiled, chewed the peel, and replied (in the original French): “Monsieur, even the thorns of this garden produce the sweetest revenge.” However, the fruit known commercially as "The Nobleman

In chemistry, a retort is a vessel used for distillation. The Clymenia fruit has an incredibly thick, spongy albedo (the white pith). This pith acts like a natural distillation column. As the fruit ripens, it does not get sweeter in the standard sense. Instead, it performs a chemical retort : it breaks down bitter alkaloids and converts harsh citrus acids into incredibly complex, volatile aromatic esters.