Papeda or papaeda is the common name for a group of ''

Citrus ''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 ...

'' species and varieties native to tropical Asia that are hardy and slow-growing, and produce unpalatable fruit.

Walter Tennyson Swingle Walter Tennyson Swingle (January 8, 1871 – January 19, 1952) was an American agricultural botanist who contributed greatly to the classification and taxonomy of citrus. Biography Swingle was born in Canaan, Pennsylvania, and moved with his ...

segregated these species into a separate subgenus, ''Papeda'', that included the Ichang lemon,

yuzu Yuzu (''Citrus junos'', from Japanese or ) is a citrus fruit and plant in the family Rutaceae of East Asian origin. Yuzu has been cultivated mainly in East Asia, though recently also in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Italy, and France. I ...

kaffir lime ''Citrus hystrix'', called the kaffir lime or makrut lime, (, ) is a citrus fruit native to tropical Southeast Asia. Its fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and its essential oil is used in perfumery. Its rind and crushed leav ...

kabosu Kabosu (カボス or 臭橙; binomial name: ''Citrus sphaerocarpa'') is a citrus fruit of an evergreen broad-leaf tree in the family Rutaceae. It is popular in Japan, where its juice is used to improve the taste of many dishes, especially cooke ...

sudachi Sudachi (''Citrus sudachi''; Japanese: スダチ or 酢橘) is a small, round, green citrus fruit of Japanese origin that is a specialty of Tokushima Prefecture in Japan. It is a sour citrus, not eaten as fruit, but used as food flavoring in p ...

, and a number of wild and uncultivated species and hybrids. Recent genetic analysis shows the papedas to be distributed among distinct branches of the ''Citrus'' phylogenetic tree, and hence Swingle's proposed subgenus is

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

and not a valid taxonomic grouping, but the term persists as a common name. Because of generally slow growth and bitter, less palatable fruits than in other citruses, papeda species have only limited commercial cultivation. Some species, like ichang papeda, are used in

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

, while others are important for rootstocking and as genome source for breeding disease-resistant and frost-hardy citrus hybrids. In some cases the skin or leaves are used as a flavoring in Asian cuisine. It is believed, based on molecular studies, that the

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 ...

pomelo The pomelo ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefr ...

, mandarin and papedas were the ancestors of most hybrid citrus species and their varieties, which resulted from breeding or natural hybridization among the parental species. For example, the Key lime, a hybrid between a papeda, the micrantha, and a citron, has in turn given rise to many commercial types of limes.

Classification

There are four species of Papeda currently recognised by

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

and the

Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million ...

. These are: * ''

Citrus cavaleriei ''Citrus cavaleriei'', the Ichang papeda (Chinese: 宜昌橙), is a slow-growing species of papeda that has characteristic lemon-scented foliage and flowers. It is native to southwestern and west-central China and is likely named for the city ...

'' - the Ichang papeda * '' Citrus halimii'' - mountain citron * ''

Citrus latipes ''Citrus latipes'', commonly called "Khasi papeda", is sometimes mistakenly identified as Kaffir lime ('' C. hystrix''). Native to Northeast India, the khasi papeda is a small, thorny tree that closely resembles both kaffir limes and ichang pap ...

'' - khasi papeda * ''

Citrus hystrix ''Citrus hystrix'', called the kaffir lime or makrut lime, (, ) is a citrus fruit native to tropical Southeast Asia. Its fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and its essential oil is used in perfumery. Its rind and crushed leav ...

'' - The kaffir lime or Mauritius papeda There are many naturally occurring varieties that are now classified as subspecies: * ''Citrus hystrix'' var. ''micrantha'' - small-flowered papeda (locally known as the ''biasong'') * ''Citrus hystrix'' var. ''microcarpa'' - small-fruited papeda (locally known as the ''samuyao'') * ''Citrus hystrix'' var. ''celebica'' - Celebes papeda * ''Citrus hystrix'' var. ''macroptera'' - Melanesian papeda * ''Citrus'' x ''aurantiifolia'' var. ''macrophylla'' - alemow * ''Citrus'' x ''aurantiifolia'' var. ''webberi'''' - kalpi * '' Citrus longispina'' - winged lime (unresolved as to whether or not it is a hybrid, variety or species) A number of hybrids between this subgenus and the subgenus ''Citrus'' also exist: * Ichandarins **

Yuzu Yuzu (''Citrus junos'', from Japanese or ) is a citrus fruit and plant in the family Rutaceae of East Asian origin. Yuzu has been cultivated mainly in East Asia, though recently also in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Italy, and France. I ...

(ichang papeda × mandarin) **

Sudachi Sudachi (''Citrus sudachi''; Japanese: スダチ or 酢橘) is a small, round, green citrus fruit of Japanese origin that is a specialty of Tokushima Prefecture in Japan. It is a sour citrus, not eaten as fruit, but used as food flavoring in p ...

(ichang papeda × mandarin) * Ichang lemon (ichang papeda × pomelo) *

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. ...

(yuzu × pomelo, or yuzu

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

) *

Kabosu Kabosu (カボス or 臭橙; binomial name: ''Citrus sphaerocarpa'') is a citrus fruit of an evergreen broad-leaf tree in the family Rutaceae. It is popular in Japan, where its juice is used to improve the taste of many dishes, especially cooke ...

(ichang papeda × bitter orange)

Notes

{{citrus - Plant subgenera Plant common names