Citron

The citron is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind, botanically classified as Citrus medica by both the Swingle and Tanaka botanical name systems. It is one of the four original citrus fruits (the others being pomelo, mandarin and papeda), from which most other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization.

Etymology

The fruit's English name "citron" derives ultimately from Latin, citrus, which is also the origin of the genus name.

Other languages

A source of confusion is that citron or similar words in French, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Finnish, Latvian, the West Slavic languages, and all Germanic languages but English are false friends, as they refer to the lemon. Indeed, into the 16th century, the English name citron included the lemon and perhaps the lime as well.

In Persian languages, it is called Turunj, as against "Naraj" (bitter orange); both names borrowed by Arabic and introduced into Spain and Portugal after their occupation by the Muslims in AD 711, whence it became the source of the name, 'orange.' In Syria it is called Kabbad; in Japanese it is called Bushukan (maybe referring only to the fingered varieties).

Medicago

Medicago is a genus of flowering plants, commonly known as medick or burclover, in the legume family. It contains at least 87 species and is distributed mainly around the Mediterranean basin. The best-known member of the genus is alfalfa (M. sativa), an important forage crop, and the genus name is based on the Latin name for that plant, medica, from Greek: μηδική (πόα) median (grass). Most members of the genus are low, creeping herbs, resembling clover, but with burs (hence the common name). However, alfalfa grows to a height of 1 meter, and tree medick (M. arborea) is a shrub. Members of the genus are known to produce bioactive compounds such as medicarpin (a flavonoid) and medicagenic acid (a triterpenoid saponin).Chromosome numbers in Medicago range from 2n = 14 to 48.

The species Medicago truncatula is a model legume due to its relatively small stature, small genome (450–500 Mbp), short generation time (about 3 months), and ability to reproduce both by outcrossing and selfing.

MEDICA

MEDICA is a French private health group specialized in the exploitation of global care facilities for dependent persons.

Activities

The MEDICA group operates in the sector of nursing homes for elderly dependent persons, in France and Italy, and in the health sector, with medical units of follow-up care and rehabilitation as well as psychiatric clinics. In these two sectors, the MEDICA Group had a total capacity of approximately 13800 beds as of 11 February 2011.

History