Citrus Pages / Papedas

Papedas
A subgenus in the genus Citrus

Subgenus Papeda
Primitive citrus types
Uses

Ichang papeda Citrus ichangensis

Sudachi papeda Citrus sudachi
Kabosu papeda Citrus sphaerocarpa
Yuzu Citrus junos

Khasi papeda Citrus latipes
Small-flowered papeda Citrus micrantha
Small-fruited papeda Citrus micrantha var microcarpa

Celebes papeda Citrus celebica

Alemow Citrus macrophylla

Melanesian papeda Citrus macroptera

Kalpi papeda Citrus webberii

Kaffir lime Citrus hystrix
Winged lime Citrus longispina

Mauritius papeda (Kaffir lime) Citrus hystrix
© C. Jacquemond / INRA

Subgenus Papeda

Papedas form a subgenus of the genus Citrus. They are a group of acid wild citrus types growing in the monsoon region and parts of Japan and China. Papedas have pulp vesicules with numerous droplets of acrid oil, which usually makes them inedible. The petioles are always large and broadly winged. They are very long, 1,5 - 3 times longer than broad. Melanesian papeda Citrus macroptera can have petioles almost as wide and half of the length of the main leaf. The petioles of the Celebes papeda Citrus celebica can be larger than the blade in fully grown trees. Ichang papeda Citrus ichangensis is the most cold-resistant of all the evergreen species in the citrus subfamily. Only the deciduous Trifoliate orange Poncirus trifoliata is hardier.

Primitive citrus types

Papedas belong to the oldest and most primitive known citrus types and according to recent studies have contributed their genes to many well-known citrus fruits, most notably the various kinds of limes. Citrus micrantha, the Small-flowered papeda, is one of the parents of the common lime (Key lime), Citrus aurantiifolia. (See Introduction, The genus Citrus). The species of the subgenus Papeda have been shown to possess decidedly simpler flowers than the species of the subgenus Citrus. The Papedas C. micrantha, celebica, macroptera and hystrix have small flowers, 1.2 to 1.7 (rarely 2) cm in diameter. In this important character the subgenus Papeda agrees with the other five genera included in the True Citrus Fruit Tree group: Clymenia (Clymenia), Microcitrus, Eremocitrus (Native Australian), Poncirus (Trifoliate orange) and Fortunella (Kumquats). The discovery of a primitive character in the papedas serves to emphasize how very different they are from the true oranges of the subgenus Citrus.

Uses

Some papedas yield fragrant aromatic oil, which can be used in perfumery. Malays, Melanesians and Polynesians have used papeda juice as a hair wash and added it to coconut oil for fragrance. Goldsmiths have used papedas to clean gold objects. Papeda fruit are used in native medicines and Ichang papeda Citrus ichangensis is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Many papedas occur only in the wild, but the Small-flowered papeda Citrus micrantha is cultivated in the Philippines. The two hybrids of the Ichang papeda, Yuzu and the Ichang lemon are cultivated in China, Japan and many countries of the Far-East. The leaves, rind and juice of the Kaffir lime a.k.a. Mauritius papeda Citrus hystrix have many food uses and the plant is cultivated in most citrus growing areas around the world.


LAT	Citrus ichangensis Swingle
Syn
	The Ichang papeda is a slow-growing species of the genus Citrus, which has characteristic lemon-scented foliage and flowers. It is native to East Asia and China's Hubei province. The Ichang Lemon's main claim to fame is its unusual hardiness. With the exception of the Trifoliate orange Poncirus trifoliata it is the hardiest citrus plant, tolerating both moderate frost and damp conditions. For this reason, it is perhaps the only species of true citrus which can be reliably grown outside in the temperate areas of Europe and the United States. It is a member of the Papeda subgenus of citrus. Other members of the subgenus include the Kaffir Lime which is used in oriental cuisines. This plant, which grows in a wild state in central and southwestern China, is doubtless the most cold-resistant of all the evergreen species in the orange subfamily. It differs greatly from the other species in the subgenus Papeda in having large flowers, and large, very thick seeds. The leaves also differ in having extremely long but rather narrow winged petioles, often exceeding in area the slender, pointed, lanceolate leaf blades. Bottom picture taken by Mike Saalfeld shows Ichang papeda and a clementine leaf. Yuzu (see below) is a hybrid of the Ichang papeda. Contrary to common belief the Ichang lemon is not a synonym of the Ichang papeda but its hybrid with a pummelo Citrus ichangensis x citrus grandis. It is also called Shangyan and is widely grown and used in China to perfume rooms and cabinets. In the US it has been used for lemon pie and the connoisseurs who have used Shangyan prefer it to regular lemon pies.
ENG	Ichang papeda, Ichang lime
FRA	Papeda Ichang,
Photos		© UC-Riverside Citrus Collection (3) © Home Citrus Growers
Link	Home Citrus Growers


LAT	Citrus sudachi Hort. ex Shirai
Syn	Citrus ichangensis x Citrus reticulata var. austera
	Sudachi papeda is thought to be a hybrid of Ichang papeda (Citrus ichangensis) and sour mandadin (Citrus reticulata var. austera). When used for cooking purposes, Sudachi is harvested while still green, which occurs during September to October, and are served in cut halves as a garnish. Growth is slow, may have dwarfing characteristics. Trees are long-lived. Sudachi is an acid citrus; it bears small fruit (20-25 g) and is traditionally grown in Tokushima Prefecture (Japan).
ENG	Sudachi papeda, Sudachi Ichandarin
FRA	Papeda Sudachi
Photos		© UC-Riverside Citrus Collection


LAT	Citrus sphaerocarpa Hort. ex Tanaka
Syn
	Kabosu papeda is believed to be a hybrid of papeda and sour orange. It grows in China and is popular in Japan. Kabusu is grown primarily as an ornamental in Japan and the fruits are used for decorative purposes and in the preparation of marmalade and vinegar.
ENG	Kabosu papeda
FRA	Papeda Kabosu
Photos		© UC-Riverside Citrus Collection
Links


LAT	Citrus junos Sieb. ex Tanaka
Syn	Citrus ichangensis x Citrus reticulata var. austera
	Yuzu was earlier classified as a valid species but study has shown it to be a hybrid of Ichang papeda (Citrus ichangensis) and Sour mandarin (Citrus reticulata var. austera) The fragrant yuzu lemon orginates from China, but is mostly grown in Japan where both the juice and the grated rind are used in traditional Japanese cooking. The aroma is pungent and the dried peel is used as a spice. The fruit is used in a ritualistic New Year ceremony to ensure good health. Wikipedia has a good article on Yuzy lemon describing its uses in Japanese and Korean cuisines.
ENG	Yuzu, Yuzu ichandrin
FRA	Yuzu
Photos		© UC-Riverside Citrus Collection (2-3) © Laaz
Links


LAT	Citrus latipes (Swingle) Tanaka
Syn
	Khasi papeda comes from Northeastern India: Khasi Hills; northern Burma, and grows in the mountains at considerable elevation, 500-1,830 m (1,640 - 6,000 ft). Citrus latipes is a thorny tree similar to C. ichangensis but having leaf blades more variable in size and shape and with the tips subacute or even bluntly rounded, not apiculate or subcaudate with blunt points as in C. ichangensis. The flowers, instead of being borne singly in the axils of the leaves as in C. ichangensis, are sometimes borne in small axillary racemes with 5-7 flowers and are much smaller. The fruits are borne singly and resemble those of C. ichangensis except for having a thicker peel, of which the inner layer is chalky white just below the outer green layer. The seeds are also smaller and more numerous than those of C. ichangensis and are arranged 5-7 in each segment. Notes taken at UC-Riverside Citrus Variety Collection together with the adjoining photos on 11/29/2007: Large fruit, flattish, looks like a pummelo. Bears in a grapefruit-like cluster. Double leaves, winged petiole. Large, lush tree. Fruits greenish yellow when visited, starting to turn. Moderately thick, grapefruit-like skin. Fairly juicy, not bad taste at first, then unpleasant aftertaste.
ENG	Khasi papeda, Kagzi seedless lime, Som Lawo
FRA	Papeda Khasi
Photos		© Saga Univ. Dept of Agriculture (2) © UC-Riverside CVC


LAT	Citrus micrantha Wester
Syn	Citrus marcoptera var. micrantha Wester
	The Small-flowered papeda stands out from all others of the subgenus Papeda because of its very small flowers, only 1.2-1.3 cm wide, white, with a trace of purple on the outside. The fruits are 5-7 cm long; surface fairly smooth or with transverse corrugations, lemon yellow; skin comparatively thick; pulp rather juicy, grayish, acid; aroma similar to that of samuyao; Seeds are numerous. The leaves have broadly ovate blades, blunt-pointed at both ends, 3.5-6 cm long, 2.7-4 cm wide with petioles 3,5 to 6 cm long, broadly winged, up to 4 cm wide; wing area sometimes exceeding leaf area. Seeds are numerous. The tree attains a height of 7.5 to 9 meters, with comparatively small but sharp spines. This species is cultivated in the southern Philippine Islands (Cebu, Bohol, Negros, and Mindanao), where it is called biasong. The fruit of this species is used as a hair wash but is not eaten and is of no economic importance.
ENG	Small-flowered papeda, Biasong papeda
FRA
Photos		© Saga Univ. Dept of Agriculture


LAT	Citrus micrantha var. microcarpa Wester
Syn	Citrus westeri Tanaka
	The Small-fruited papeda, has the smallest fruit and the smallest flowers of any True Citrus Fruit Tree known but curiously enough has more segments in the fruit (seven to nine) than Citrus micrantha (six to eight), although the fruits of the latter are much larger, 5 to 7 by 3 to 4 cm, instead of 1.5 to 2 cm, as in the variety microcarpa. Samuyao is a shrubby tree, 4.5 meters tall, with slender branches and small, weak spines; leaves 55 to 80 millimeters long, 20 to 25 millimeters broad, thin, of distinct fragrance. Flowers 2 to 7, small, 5 to 9 millimeters in diameter, white, with trace of purple on the outside. Fruit 15 to 20 millimeters in diameter, roundish in outline; base sometimes nippled; apex an irregular, wrinkly cavity. Surface corrugate, greenish lemon yellow; oil cells usually sunken; skin very thin; pulp fairly juicy, acid, bitter with distinct aroma; juice cells very minute, blunt, containing a small greenish nucleus; seeds small, flattened, sometimes beaked. The fruits are not eaten but are used by goldsmiths to clean gold objects. They also enter into native medicines. The crushed fruits are used by the women of Cebu for cleansing the hair and are added to coconut oil to give it fragrance when applied to the hair. The tree bears within five years from planting and produces fruits during the entire year, but more abundantly during the rainy season.
ENG	Small-fruited papeda, Samuyao papeda
FRA
Photos		© UC-Riverside Citrus Collection


LAT	Citrus celebica Koord.

	Description from The Citrus Industry, vol. II, chapter 3. Distribution: Northeastern Celebes, southern Philippines. Common name: Celebes papeda. Leaves with small, lanceolate, subcrenulate blades, 4.5-5.5 X 2.5-3.5 cm; winged petioles oblanceolate, with a subcordate or slightly curved upper end and gradually rounded sides tapering into a deltoid base, having from 5-10 mm of the petiole almost wingless; margins faintly crenulate; flowers occurring in 3- to many-flowered spikes or small cymoid clusters in the axils of the leaves; flowers medium-sized, 15-17 mm when open, 4-5-merous; ovary reversed-pyriform, tapering sharply below, broadly rounded at the tip with many (17-20) locules; style short, 5-6 mm; stamens short, free; fruits large (10 cm diam.), globose, with a very thick peel (about 3 cm); seeds small, probably monoembryonic. A small tree 5 m high, growing in a wild state in primeval forests at Karowa, in extreme northeastern Celebes (Minahasa); fruits inedible. The Celebes papeda is called Sai li bi cheng or Xi li bai cheng in Chinese and Serebesu papeda in Japanese
ENG	Celebes papeda
Photos		© Gene Lester


LAT	Citrus macrophylla Wester
Syn	Citrus ichangensis x Citrus reticulata var. austera
	Alemow is hybrid of Celebes papeda (Citrus celebica) with a species of the subgenus Citrus, probably a pomelo (Citrus grandis). It has been tried as a rootstock for lemons in California. This hybrid, named C. macrophylla by Wester is sometimes cultivated in Cebu, Philippine Islands. It has large leaves, with the blades 12 to 14 cm long and 6 to 8 cm wide, with much smaller, subtriangular, short-winged petioles, measuring up to 3.5 cm wide near the top. The fruits are very large, 8.5 to 10 cm in diameter, subglobose to oblong, more or less narrowed at the base, with a rough, transversely-corrugated, but rather thin skin. The fruit has 13 to 16 segments and rather dry, sour pulp, considered inedible even by the natives.
ENG	Alemow papeda
Photos		© Saga Univ. Dept of Agriculture (2) © CCPP


LAT	Citrus macroptera Montr.
Syn	Citrus papuana F.M. Bail. Citrus aurantium ssp. saponacea Safford
	Melanesian papeda was discovered by Father Montrouzier on the Island of Art, situated a few miles to the northwest of the north end of New Caledonia. It was a tree 15-16 feet (4.5-5 m) high, growing near the houses of the natives. It flowers in September, and is commonly called don gan This species is characterized by large leaves, sometimes 10 or 12 inches long (including the very large winged petiole) and 2 inches wide; it has subglobose fruits the size and shape of an orange, but with very little juice. This species grows wild in Thailand, Indo-China, Philippines, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, Guam, and many other of the Polynesian islands, probably being carried by the Polynesians for use in washing. The juice and fruit pulp of the Melanesian papeda has been used in Guam not only for washing the hair, but also as a substitute for soap in washing clothing.The macerated leaves form a lather when water is added.
ENG	Melanesian papeda
Photos		© Saga Univ. Dept of Agriculture (3) © Gene Lester


LAT	Citrus webberii Wester
Syn
	Kalpi papeda is a mandarin-like citrus fruit tree which was named C. webberii by Wester in honor of his former chief, H. J. Webber. It is called kalpi in the Bicolano dialect. Kalpi is a medium-sized, handsome tree 5 to 10 meters tall, bearing very juicy, acid fruits that can be used like lemons.It grows in both the large islands of the Philippines, Luzon and Mindanao. The fruit is variable in size, depressed-globose, with 9 to 11 segments; skin very thin, yellowish when ripe. It seems to be a hybrid of the native Citrus macroptera with the common Philippine mandarin, much like Yuzu.
ENG	Webber's Philippine hybrid, Alsem, Nogapog
FRA	Papeda Kalpi
Photos		© Gene Lester


LAT	Citrus hystrix DC
Syn	Citrus torosa Blanco Papeda hystrix
	Kaffir lime is the strong spice used in Indonesian and Thai cooking. The zest and juice as well as the leaves are used. All parts of the plant are strongly aromatic. Especially the sometimes pungent aroma of the leaves is appreciated. Many consider the leaves of the Kaffir lime to have a stronger scent of citrus than lemon grass, but to retain the aroma, don't over boil. The leaves are gathered, several at a time, to form a tube-like shape. This tube is then turned to an (45 degree) angle and cut with a sharp knife into very thin slices. Cut in this manner you will get longish thin stripes that can be added to food during cooking to release their aroma. Best results are obtained when some of the stripes are added at the start of cooking, some when the liquid is added and the rest only a few minutes before the dish is done. In the tropics Kaffir lime is often sold still attached to a twig (see photo) or some leaves are added to your bag. In Europe frozen Kaffir lime leaves can be found in oriental specialty food shops. “Kaffir” means infidel in Arabic, from “kafara”. G. C. Whitworth’s Anglo-Indian Dictionary (1885) states that not only was the term applied by Muslims to unbelievers, but “in Western India the word is a common term of abuse.” When Arab slavers first came to the east coast of Africa they applied the word to the inhabitants, and it is best known today as a derogatory term once used by South African whites for blacks.
ENG	Kaffir lime (Aust.), Mauritius papeda (UK), Kuffre lime (US), Kieffer lime (SE Asia), Leech lime.
FRA	Limettier hérissé, Lime kaffir, Combava
GER	Indische Zitrone, Kaffir Limette
SPA	Lima kafir
Photos		© UCR Citrus Variety Collection (2,3) © C. Jacquemond / INRA


LAT	Citrus longispina Wester

	"Winged lime, is an unusual lime in that it has a fair amount of sugar, so it can be eaten out of hand by most people. Pleasant lime flavor. Fruit is seedless, globose, about 8 cm and gets ricey if left too long on the plant. Lots of long thorns, as the name implies. Very unusual dark brown, almost black twigs. This color is retained in two- and sometimes three-year wood, the only citrus that I know of that has this characteristic. I called it "Blacktwig" for obvious reasons. I planted some longispina seeds from UCR, and years later, when they first fruited, I could see that they were my Blacktwig, both from the fruit taste and dark twigs." This information and the pictures were given by Gene Lester, who grows this variety in Central California. Winged lime is called Tai la mi san in Chinese and Taramisan in Japanese.
ENG	Winged lime, Blacktwig, Megacarpa papeda
Photos		© Gene Lester