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The pomelo ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest
citrus fruit
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to So ...
from the family
Rutaceae
The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rue[RUTACEAE](_blank)
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...
and the principal
ancestor
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
of the
grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink.
Grapefruit is ...
.
[ It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to ]Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
.[ Similar in taste to a sweet grapefruit, the pomelo is commonly consumed and used for festive occasions throughout ]Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. As with the grapefruit, phytochemical
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons ...
s in the pomelo have the potential for drug interactions.
Etymology and common names
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word "pomelo" is uncertain. It may be derived from Dutch ''pompelmoes''.[ Its botanical name, ''Citrus maxima'', means "the biggest citrus". In English, the word "pomelo" (also spelled pummelo, pumelo, pomello, pommelo) has become the more common name, although "pomelo" has historically been used for ]grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink.
Grapefruit is ...
.
After introduction to Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
by 'Captain Shaddock' of the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
(apparently Philip Chaddock, who visited the island in the late 1640s), the fruit was called "shaddock" in English. From there the name spread to Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
in 1696.American Heritage Dictionary
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, 1973. The fruit is also known as jabong in Hawaii and jambola in varieties of English spoken in South Asia.[ In Nepali, it is known as "bhogate".
]
Description and uses
The pomelo tree may be tall, possibly with a crooked trunk thick, and low-hanging, irregular branches.[ Leaf petioles are distinctly winged, with alternate, ]ovate
Ovate may refer to:
* Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts
*Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe
*Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd
*Vates
In modern English, the nouns vates () and ova ...
or elliptic
In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...
shapes long, with a leathery, dull green upper layer, and hairy underleaf.[ The flowers — single or in clusters — are fragrant and yellow-white in color.][
The fruit is large, in diameter, usually weighing . It has a thicker rind than a grapefruit,][ and is divided into 11 to 18 segments. The flesh tastes like a mild grapefruit, with little of its common bitterness (the grapefruit is a hybrid of the pomelo and the orange).] The enveloping membranes around the segments are chewy and bitter, considered inedible, and usually discarded. There are at least sixty varieties.[Pomelos, grapefruit's sweeter and mellower relative, have a wealth of flavor](_blank)
by Jeanne Kelley, in the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''; published February 12, 2016; retrieved November 19, 2021 (via archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
)
The fruit generally contains few, relatively large seeds, but some varieties have numerous seeds.[
The juice is regarded as delicious, and the rind is used to make ]preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...
or may be candied. In Brazil, the thick skin may be used for making a sweet conserve
Conserve may refer to:
* Conserve (condiment), a preserve made from a mixture of fruits or vegetables
* Conserve (NGO), an Indian environmental organization
* Conserve (publisher), a Dutch publisher
* Conserved sequence, a protein or nucleic aci ...
, while the spongy pith of the rind is discarded. In Sri Lanka, it is often eaten as a dessert, sometimes sprinkled with sugar. In large parts of Southeast Asia where pomelo is native, it is a common dessert, often sprinkled with or dipped in a salt mixture. It is eaten in salads. In the Philippines, a pink beverage is made from pomelo and pineapple juice.
The fruit may have been introduced to China around 100 BCE. In East Asia, especially in Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Maca ...
, braised pomelo pith is used to make dishes that are high in fibre and nutritional value and low in fat.
Propagation and genetic diversity
The seeds of the pomelo are monoembryonic Monoembryony is the emergence of one and only one seedling from a seed. A seed giving two or more seedlings is polyembryonic Polyembryony is the phenomenon of two or more embryos developing from a single fertilized egg. Due to the embryos resulting ...
, producing seedlings with genes from both parents, but they are usually similar to the tree they grow on and therefore pomelo is typically grown from seed in Asia. Seeds can be stored for 80 days at a temperature of and with moderate relative humidity. ''Citrus maxima'' is usually grafted
Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
onto other citrus rootstock Citrus rootstock are plants used as rootstock for citrus plants. A rootstock plant must be compatible for scion grafting, and resistant to common threats, such as drought, frost, and common citrus diseases.
Principal rootstocks
Five types of rootst ...
s outside Asia to produce trees that are identical to the parent; high-quality varieties are propagated by air-layering
Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments. Layering is also utilized by horticulturists to propagate desirable plants.
Natural layering typically occurs when a branch touches ...
or by budding onto favored rootstocks.
The physical and chemical characteristics of pomelo vary widely across South Asia.
Varieties
Non-hybrid pomelos
* Dangyuja
Dangyuja ( ko, 당유자 ) is a Korean citrus fruit that is a specialty of Jeju Island. In Jeju language, it is called daengyuji ( ). Dangyuja has a similar shape and flavour to yuzu, but is genealogically a variety of pomelo.
Dangyuja has b ...
Possible non-hybrid pomelos
* Banpeiyu
Banpeiyu ( ja, 晩白柚) is a cultivar of pomelo which produces extremely large fruits.
A banpeiyu fruit became the world's heaviest pomelo when it was presented by Seiji Sonoda from Japan for the Guinness World Record at the Banpeiyu Competitio ...
Hybrids
The pomelo is one of the original citrus species from which cultivated citrus fruits have been hybridized, others being citron
The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed throu ...
, mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, and to a lesser extent, papedas and kumquat
Kumquats (; zh, 金桔), or cumquats in Australian English, are a group of small fruit-bearing trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae. Their taxonomy is disputed. They were previously classified as forming the now-historical genus ''For ...
. In particular, the common orange is presumed to be a naturally occurring hybrid between the pomelo and the mandarin with the pomelo providing the larger size and greater firmness. The grapefruit was originally also presumed to be a naturally occurring hybrid of the pomelo and the mandarin; however, genome analysis conducted more than two centuries after this presumption was made shows that it is actually a backcrossed hybrid between a pomelo and a sweet orange which is why 63% of the grapefruit's genome comes from the pomelo.
The pomelo is employed today in artificial breeding programs:
* The common sweet orange
An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...
(Citrus × sinensis) is a pomelo × mandarin hybrid
* The bitter orange
Bitter orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the citrus tree ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'' and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is probably a cross be ...
(Citrus × aurantium) is another pomelo × mandarin hybrid
* The tangelo
The tangelo ( , ; ''C. reticulata × C. maxima'' or ''× C. paradisi''), ''Citrus × tangelo, is'' a citrus fruit hybrid of a ''Citrus reticulata'' variety, such as mandarin orange or tangerine, and a ''Citrus maxima'' variety, such as a pomel ...
is a hybrid between pomelo or grapefruit and any tangerine
The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...
; it generally has a thicker skin than a tangerine and is less sweet
** 'K–Early' ('Sunrise Tangelo')
** 'Minneola tangelo
The tangelo ( , ; ''C. reticulata × C. maxima'' or ''× C. paradisi''), ''Citrus × tangelo, is'' a citrus fruit hybrid of a ''Citrus reticulata'' variety, such as mandarin orange or tangerine, and a ''Citrus maxima'' variety, such as a pomel ...
': Bowen grapefruit × Dancy tangerine
The Dancy tangerine (''zipper-skin'' tangerine, ''kid-glove orange'') is one of the oldest and formerly most popular American citrus varieties, but is now rarely sold."Market Watch: The wild and elusive Dancy". David Karp, LA Times. http://www.la ...
[
** 'Orlando' (formerly 'Take'): Bowen grapefruit × ]Dancy tangerine
The Dancy tangerine (''zipper-skin'' tangerine, ''kid-glove orange'') is one of the oldest and formerly most popular American citrus varieties, but is now rarely sold."Market Watch: The wild and elusive Dancy". David Karp, LA Times. http://www.la ...
(pollen parent)[
** 'Seminole': Bowen grapefruit × ]Dancy tangerine
The Dancy tangerine (''zipper-skin'' tangerine, ''kid-glove orange'') is one of the oldest and formerly most popular American citrus varieties, but is now rarely sold."Market Watch: The wild and elusive Dancy". David Karp, LA Times. http://www.la ...
[
** 'Thornton': ]tangerine
The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...
× grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink.
Grapefruit is ...
, unspecified[
** ']Ugli fruit
The Jamaican tangelo, also known by proprietary names ugli fruit, uglifruit, and uniq fruit, is a citrus fruit that arose on the island of Jamaica through the natural hybridization of a tangerine or orange with a grapefruit (or pomelo), and is ...
' (Jamaican tangelo): mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
× grapefruit, probable (wild seedling)[
* ]Grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink.
Grapefruit is ...
is a pomelo backcross
Backcrossing is a crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent, to achieve offspring with a genetic identity closer to that of the parent. It is used in horticulture, animal breeding, and product ...
: pomelo × sweet orange
An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...
(see above)
* Forbidden fruit
Forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden which God commands mankind not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are exiled from Eden.
As a ...
another Caribbean pomelo/sweet orange cross
* 'Nova': Clementine × Orlando tangelo cross[
* The ]Oroblanco
An oroblanco, oro blanco (white gold), Pomelit (Israel) or sweetie (''Citrus grandis'' Osbeck × '' C. Paradisi'' Macf.) is a sweet seedless citrus hybrid fruit similar to grapefruit. It is often referred to as oroblanco grapefruit.
Developmen ...
and Melogold
The Melogold or Melogold grapefruit (''Citrus grandis'' Osbeck × '' C. Paradisi'' Macf.) is a citrus hybrid similar to the oroblanco; both result from a cross between the pomelo and the grapefruit and is a fruit similar to a sweet grapefruit.
M ...
grapefruits are hybrids between ''Citrus maxima'' and the grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink.
Grapefruit is ...
* Mandelos: pomelo × mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
* Mato buntan: a variety in Taiwan
* Hyuganatsu
Hyuganatsu (''Citrus tamurana'', Japanese: 日向夏) is a citrus fruit and plant grown in Japan. The name comes from Hyūga, the ancient name of Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu, where the citrus is said to have originated, while means summer. ...
is a pomelo hybrid
* Kawachi Bankan
Kawachi Bankan (''Citrus kawachiensis''), also called Mishokan and Uwa Gold, is a ''Citrus'' hybrid cultivated for its edible fruit.
Genetics
Two varieties of Kawachi Bankan have been identified: one, a hybrid between the ujukitsu (seed paren ...
: ujukitsu x unidentified
Nutrition
Raw pomelo flesh is 89% water, 10% carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
s, 1% protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
, and contains negligible fat
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers spec ...
(table). A 100-gram reference amount provides of food energy
Food energy is chemical energy that animals (including humans) derive from their food to sustain their metabolism, including their muscle, muscular activity.
Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the ...
, and is rich in vitamin C
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...
(73% of the Daily Value
The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of health ...
), with no other micronutrient
Micronutrients are nutrient, essential dietary elements required by organisms in varying quantities throughout life to orchestrate a range of physiological functions to maintain health. Micronutrient requirements differ between organisms; for exam ...
s in significant content (table).
Potential for drug interaction
Pomelo may cause adverse effects, similar to those caused by grapefruit and some other citrus fruits, through the inhibition of cytochrome P450
Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are a Protein superfamily, superfamily of enzymes containing heme as a cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor that functions as monooxygenases. In mammals, these proteins oxidize steroids, fatty acids, and xenobiotics, and are ...
-mediated metabolism of prescription drug
A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The rea ...
s such as anti-hypertensive
Antihypertensives are a class of medication, drugs that are used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). Antihypertensive therapy seeks to prevent the complications of high blood pressure, such as stroke and myocardial infarction. Evidence sug ...
s and anticoagulant
Anticoagulants, commonly known as blood thinners, are chemical substances that prevent or reduce coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some of them occur naturally in blood-eating animals such as leeches and mosquitoes, where the ...
s.
Gallery
File:Pummelo or Pamplemousse (Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr.); flowe Wellcome V0042686.jpg, Flowering and fruiting branch with numbered fruit segment and flower section, chromolithograph by P. Depannemaeker, c. 1885, after B. Hoola van Nooten
File:Caligrapefruit.jpg, This white hybrid Pomelo is cushioned with a thick mesocarp
Fruit anatomy is the plant anatomy of the internal structure of fruit. Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Agg ...
layer
File:Pummelos.jpg, Pomelos
File:Pummelo cut.jpg, Pomelo after being cut
File:Pomelos 02.jpg, Pink pomelo juice vesicles
The juice vesicles, also known as citrus kernels, (in aggregate, citrus pulp) of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit's endocarp. All fruits from the Citranae subtribe, subfamily Aurantioideae, and family Rutaceae have juice ves ...
File:Citrus maxima (Pampelmuse) 004.jpg, Pomelo blossom
File:Citrus maxima0.jpg, Pomelo on tree, has fruit and blossoms at the same time
File:Xiancun - pomelo orchards - DSCF4064.JPG, Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
's Pinghe County
Pinghe County () is a county of the prefecture-level city of Zhangzhou, in southern Fujian province, PRC, bordering Guangdong province to the west.
Administrative Division
The administrative centre or seat of Pinghe County is Xiaoxi ().
Towns ...
is famous in China for its pomelos
File:Vườn bưởi.jpg, Pomelo orchard
File:Pummelo HBuntan Pink1 Asit.jpg, Pink pomelo
File:Pomelo seedling.jpg, Pomelo seedling
File:Citrus maxima (Pampelmuse) 005.jpg, Closeup of pomelo petiole
File:Mid-Autumn Festival 33, Chinatown, Singapore, Sep 06.JPG, Ipoh
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak
, pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth
, pushpin_mapsize = 275px
, pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia
, coordinates ...
pomelos on sale at Chinatown, Singapore
File:Tam som-o nam pu.JPG, ''Tam som-o nam pu'': spicy Thai pomelo salad with crab extract
File:Pomelo with rind removed and segments.jpg, alt=A large pomelo with the rind removed and main fruit cut in half. The orange-like segments are visible., The large segments inside a pomelo, containing the fruit’s juice vesicles.
References
{{Authority control
Citrus
Flora of tropical Asia
Plants used in Ayurveda
Fruit trees