More specifically the southeast foothills of the Himalayas.
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Image from Wu et al. 2017 of the suggested "origin of citrus and ancient
dispersal routes...The red star marks the fossil location of
C. linczangensis." Not drawn to scale.
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Based on whole-genome sequencing of 60 different types of citrus fruit and related accessions, an international research team suggest the origin of citrus fruits evolved in the Himalayas. The genomic data is congruent with phylogenetic and biogeographic data as well as fossil evidence of a late Miocene fruit known as Citrus linczangensis which has features seen in modern major citrus groups. The researchers were able to trace the origins as well as the spread of citrus fruits by separating out genetically pure citrus species from hybrid and admixture spices. They did this by comparing ancestry-informative markers and shared haplotypes.
Nature paper and National Geographic article on the citrus family tree.
-Kristen Tuosto
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