What Is a Honeybell Tangelo?

The Honeybell tangelo (Citrus x tangelo) is a nickname for the Minneola tangelo. The Honeybell tangelo is half tangerine and half grapefruit. The fruit is rich and juicy with a little bit of tartness.

Significance

• The Honeybell tangelo has a stem-end neck that makes the fruit bell-shaped. This has given the Minneola tangelo the marketing name of Honeybell in the gift fruit industry.

Identification

• The Honeybell fruit is 3 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter. The thin peel is a bright reddish-orange color when ripe. This tangelo variety has few seeds unless cross-pollinated with a seedy citrus variety.

Time Frame

• Honeybell fruit does not mature before the danger of winter freezes arrive in colder locations. The fruit is normally ripe between December and March. Honeybell trees are only grown in freeze-free areas.

History

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture developed the Honeybell tangelo in 1931. Cross-breeding the Duncan grapefruit and Dancy mandarin created this variety of tangelo.