The mandarin orange (Citrus reticulate), is a small citrus tree with fruit resembling other oranges, usually eaten natural or in fruit salads. Specifically reddish-orange mandarin cultivars can be marketed as tangerines, but this is not a botanical classification. Mandarins are smaller and oblate, rather than spherical like the common oranges. The taste is considered less sour, as well as sweeter and stronger. A ripe mandarin is firm to slightly soft, heavy for its size, and pebbly-skinned. The peel is very thin, with very little bitter white mesocarp, so they are usually easier to peel and to split into segments.