Pixie mandarin - Citrus reticulata Blanco

Cultivar           Pixie

Origin  California

Pixie mandarin, also called Pixie tangerine (Citrus reticulata Blanco), is a variety of mandarin that is late ripening and seedless.

Pixie was developed by Howard Brett Frost at the University of California, Riverside Citrus Research Center in 1927, and was eventually released at 1965 by his colleagues James W. Cameron and Robert K. Soost.

Frost was trying to cross two mandarin varieties, King and Dancy, to combine the late ripening of the King tangor with the richness in flavor of Dancy. The result was Kincy which was large and seedy.

Pixie is the second generation which was discovered from the progeny of an open pollinated seedling of Kincy, the male parent is uncertain. Meaning that the Pixie is either only an F2 hybrid resulting from the Kincy F1 hybrid status, or it's a hybrid by itself between the Kincy and an unknown donor.

Parentage/origins: Pixie is a mandarin variety developed by H. B. Frost at the University of California Riverside Citrus Research Center. Pixie is the result of an open pollination of Kincy (King X Dancy) that took place in 1927 and eventually released in 1965.

Rootstocks of accession: Carrizo citrange, C-35 citrange

Season of ripeness at Riverside: November to January

The tree is a vigorous grower with an upright growth habit. The fruit is usually globose to slightly oblate, and sometimes has a neck. The rind is yellow-orange with a slightly pebbled texture that is easy to peel.

The flesh is seedless, orange colored, and juicy. The flavor is mild and sweet. Pixie matures in late winter and holds exceptionally late on the tree; in certain mild locations, the fruit is known to hold well into summer.

Very nice to eat right now- fruit size smallish. Good home garden variety- seedless. A second generation seedling (hybrid or self) from open pollination of a cross of King and Dancy (named Kincy).

Fruit small to medium-small, subglobose to round; commonly with broad, short neck and collar.  Rind medium-thin, easily separable; grained to pebbled surface texture; color yellowish-orange.

Flesh medium-orange; moderately juicy; flavor pleasant and mild.  Virtually seedless (occasionally 1 seed).  Holds well on tree with little rind-puffing, but some juice loss.  Matures late.

Tree vigorous, erect to somewhat spreading; stout, ascending branches and large, King-like leaves.  Tendency to alternate bearing.  Considerable proportion of inside fruits not subject to sunburn.

Pixie is a second generation seedling (hybrid or self) from open pollination of a cross of King and Dancy (named Kincy).  This variety was made in 1927 by H. B. Frost of the University of California Citrus Research Center, Riverside, and was selected and introduced in 1965 by his colleagues J. W. Cameron and R. K. Soost. 

Because of its seedlessness and lateness of maturity, Pixie may have promise, especially as a home orchard variety (Cameron, Soost, and Frost, 1965).