[7] The term is also currently applied to any reddish-orange mandarin (and, in some jurisdictions, mandarin-like hybrids, including some tangors).

[10] A ripe tangerine is firm to slightly soft, and pebbly-skinned with no deep grooves, as well as orange in color.

In 2021, world production of tangerines (including mandarins and clementines) was 42 million tonnes, led by China with 60% of the total (table).

Tangerines were first grown and cultivated as a distinct crop in the Americas by a Major Atway in Palatka, Florida.

[13] Atway was said to have imported them from Morocco (more specifically its third-largest city, the port of Tangier), which was the origin of the name.

[15] The Dancy is no longer widely commercially grown; it is too delicate to handle and ship well, it is susceptible to Alternaria fungus, and it bears more heavily in alternate years.

Florida classifies tangerine-like hybrid fruits as tangerines for the purposes of sale and regulation;[8] this classification is widely used but regarded as technically inaccurate in the industry.