This Grapefruit tree first arrived in the state of Florida in 1823 but did not gain popularity due to its acidity and difficulty to peel. Some planted the citrus tree and sold or gave away the produce as a novelty fruit. It was only in 1929 when the most celebrated mutation in the history of citrus fruit was discovered in an orchard in Texas that the fruit gained its popularity. Growing on a pink grapefruit tree was a mutated red grapefruit, which became the Ruby Red Grapefruit tree variety  the first of its kind to get U.S. patent.

The Ruby Red Grapefruit Tree is usually grown to 16-20 ft tall to ensure large fruit size and easy fruit picking, although when left alone it can grow as high as 40-50ft. This citrus tree has shiny, green foliage that covers the tree from top to bottom and produces fragrant, white four-petal flowers.

The Ruby Red Grapefruits are round, baseball sized fruit with a pale lemon color tinged with pink blush. The flesh of the fruit is sweet, juicy and brightly red. Ruby Red Grapefruit is a rich source of vitamin C and vitamin A, potassium, fiber, beta-carotene, lycopene that gives it its distinct red color and is a powerful antioxidant.

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Rio Red Grapefruits are 5-6 inches in diameter and have a slightly pebbled pale yellow surface with irregular blushes of pink-red. The flesh is tasty and sweet with a slight hint of tartness. This grapefruit’s flesh is juicy and has a deep salmon-red color with very few seeds if any.

The Rio Red Grapefruit tree was developed by treating Ruby Red seedlings at the Citrus Center in Weslaco, a research arm of the old Texas A&I system. This variety was discovered by R.A. Hensz in 1976 and was determined to have exceeded its predecessors in all aspects as it is sweeter than the white and other red varieties with just a teeny-weeny hint of tartness. This grapefruit also has an attractive dark-pink flesh that persists throughout the season. The Rio Red grapefruit tree is more cold-resistant and grows faster than other grapefruit trees. By 1990 almost all white Grapefruit Trees in Texas and were replaced by Rio Red Grapefruit Trees.

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