Pomelo
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The pomelo (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite Merriam-Webster</ref> or pummelo, Citrus maxima), also known as a shaddock, is the largest citrus fruit. It is an ancestor of several cultivated citrus species, including the bitter orange and the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia and Malaysia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefruit, the pomelo is commonly eaten and used for festive occasions throughout Southeast and East Asia. As with the grapefruit, phytochemicals in the pomelo have the potential for drug interactions.
DescriptionEdit
The pomelo tree may be Template:Convert tall, with a trunk, often rather crooked, that is Template:Convert thick, and low-hanging, irregular branches. The petioles (leaf stalks) are distinctly winged. The leaves are alternate, ovate or elliptic in shape and Template:Cvt long; they are leathery and dull green above, hairy beneath. The flowers – single or in clusters – are fragrant and yellow-white in color.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/>
The fruit is large, Template:Cvt in diameter, round or somewhat pear-shaped.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/> Its weight varies by cultivar from Template:Convert.<ref name="Pan Ali Gong 2021">Template:Cite journal</ref> It has a thicker rind than a grapefruit, and is divided into 11 to 18 segments.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The flesh is less acidic than that of the grapefruit.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/><ref name="Morton 1987 grapefruit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are at least sixty cultivars.<ref name="Jeanne Kelley">Template:Cite news</ref> The fruit generally contains a few, relatively large seeds, but some varieties have numerous seeds.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/> The characteristics of pomelo vary widely across South Asia.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/>
The pomelo is native to Southeast Asia and all of Malaysia.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo" /> The tree may have been introduced to China around 100 BCE, and is now heavily cultivated in Southern China.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo" /> Seeds of the tree were first brought to the Americas in the late 1600s.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo" />
- Pomelo seedling.jpg
Seedling
- Pomelo flower.jpg
Flowers
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Tree
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Fruit
HistoryEdit
Ancestral Citrus speciesEdit
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The pomelo is significant botanically as one of the three major wild ancestors of several cultivated hybrid Citrus species, including the bitter orange and the grapefruit; and less directly also of the lemon, the sweet orange, and some types of mandarin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Wu Terol Ibanez 2018">Template:Cite journal and Supplement</ref> The bitter orange is a naturally occurring hybrid between the pomelo and the mandarin.<ref name="Wu Terol Ibanez 2018"/> The grapefruit is a hybrid between a pomelo and a sweet orange,<ref name="Wu Terol Ibanez 2018"/> which is why 63% of the grapefruit's genome comes from the pomelo.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The bitter orange is a hybrid of wild type mandarin and pomelo; in turn, the lemon is a hybrid of bitter orange and citron, i.e. cultivated lemons have some pomelo ancestry.<ref name="Wu Terol Ibanez 2018"/> In addition, there has been repeated introgression of pomelo genes into both early cultivated hybrid mandarins and later mandarin varieties, these last also involving hybridization with the sweet orange. Pomelo genes are thus included in many types of cultivated Citrus.<ref name="Wu Terol Ibanez 2018"/>
EtymologyEdit
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word 'pomelo' is uncertain.<ref>Template:Cite OED</ref> It may be derived from Dutch {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/> The Dutch name in turn has uncertain etymology, but is possibly derived from Dutch {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'swollen' or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'pumpkin', combined with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'lemon, citrus fruit', influenced by Portuguese {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} with the same meaning.<ref name="Etym NL"/> An alternative possibility is that the Dutch name derives from Portuguese {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'citrus fruit'.<ref name="Etym NL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The specific name maxima is the female form of the Latin for 'biggest'.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
One theory for the alternative English name 'shaddock' is that it was adopted after the plant's introduction into Barbados by a 'Captain Shaddock' of the East India Company (apparently Philip Chaddock, who visited the island in the late 1640s).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From there the name spread to Jamaica in 1696.<ref name=AHD>American Heritage Dictionary, 1973.</ref>
TaxonomyEdit
In his Herbarium Amboinense, published posthumously in 1741, Georg Eberhard Rumphius named it Limo decumanus.<ref name="Merrill 1917"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1753, Carl Linnaeus mentioned the plant as a subspecies, Citrus aurantium var grandis.<ref name="Merrill 1917"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1755, Johannes Burman validly described the species from the type specimen, giving it the name Aurantium maximum, now considered a basionym.<ref name="AGB"/> In 1757, Pehr Osbeck named it Citrus grandis.<ref name="Merrill 1917"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Linnaeus revisited the taxonomy in 1767, renaming the species as Citrus decumana.<ref name="Merrill 1917"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1917, Elmer Drew Merrill revised and renamed it Citrus maxima.<ref name="AGB">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Merrill 1917">Template:Cite book</ref> Aurantioideae remains as a subfamily.<ref name="EPPO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
As foodEdit
NutritionEdit
Raw pomelo flesh is 89% water, 10% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat. A 100-gram reference amount provides Template:Convert of food energy, and is rich in vitamin C (68% of the Daily Value), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).
CulinaryEdit
The flesh and juice are edible, and the peel may be candied.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/> It is eaten as a dessert, or used in salads.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/> In the Philippines, a pink beverage is made from pomelo and pineapple juice.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In East Asia, especially in Cantonese cuisine, braised pomelo pith is used to make dishes that are high in fibre and low in fat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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Ipoh pomelos on sale in Malaysia
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Tam som-o nam pu: spicy Thai pomelo salad with crab extract
Drug interactionsEdit
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The pomelo, while not itself toxic, can cause adverse interactions similar to those caused by the grapefruit with a wide range of prescription drugs. These occur by the inhibition of cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of prescription drugs including for example some anti-hypertensives, some anticoagulants, some anticancer agents, some anti-infective agents, some statins, and some immunosuppressants.<ref name="Bailey">Template:Cite journal</ref>
CultivationEdit
The seeds of the pomelo are monoembryonic, producing seedlings with genes from both parents, so they do not breed true to type.<ref name="ITFN"/> However, they are usually fairly similar to the tree they grow from and therefore in Asia, pomelos are typically grown from seed.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/> Seeds can be stored for 80 days at a temperature of Template:Convert with moderate relative humidity.<ref name="Morton 1987 pummelo"/> Pomelos can be propagated vegetatively by air-layering, by taking cuttings, by grafting, by shield budding, or by tissue culture.<ref name="ITFN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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Pomelos in Pinghe County, Fujian
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Orchard in Vietnam
In cultureEdit
The pomelo is used in cultural and spiritual festivals across Asia. In China, during the Lunar New Year festival, the fruit is offered to ancestors. Its name is similar to the word for "to have" (有, yǒu), making it a symbol of prosperity and family unity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Thailand, pomelo is used in rituals such as the Songkran festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the Hindu festival of Chhath Puja, pomelo is used as an offering.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Chhat Puja with Pomelo.jpg
Chhat Puja with pomelo, India