Citrus crassifolia, the Meiwa kumquat, is a species of kumquat; a type of citrus fruit in the genus Citrus, family Rutaceae. It was first described by the American botanist Walter Tennyson Swingle in 1915 as Fortunella crassifolia.[1]
Initially, C. crassifolia was described as a synonym of Citrus japonica. Howerver, recent phylogenetic analysis suggested that C. crassifolia is a single 'true' species.[2]
C. crassifolia was brought to Japan from China at the end of the 19th century. It is a hybrid of Nagami and Marumi. It has seedy oval fruits and thick leaves and was characterized as a different species by Swingle. Its fruit is typically eaten skin and all.[3]