Thepomelo (/ˈpɒmɪloʊ,ˈpʌm-/POM-il-oh,PUM-;[2][3] orpummelo,Citrus maxima), also known as ashaddock, is the largestcitrus fruit. It is an ancestor of several cultivated citrus species, including thebitter orange and thegrapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid citrus fruit, native toSoutheast Asia. 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 thepotential for drug interactions.
The pomelo tree can be 5–15 meters (16–50 feet) tall, with a trunk, often rather crooked, that is 10–30 centimeters (4–12 inches) thick, and low-hanging, irregular branches. Thepetioles (leaf stalks) are distinctly winged. The leaves are alternate,ovate orelliptic in shape, and 5–20 cm (2–8 in) long; they are leathery and dull green above, hairy beneath. The flowers — single or in clusters — are fragrant and yellow-white in color.[4]
The fruit is large, 10–30 cm (4–12 in) in diameter, round or somewhat pear-shaped.[4] Its weight varies bycultivar from 0.26–1.95 kilograms (0.6–4.3 pounds).[5] It has a thickerrind than a grapefruit, and is divided into 11 to 18 segments.[4] The flesh is less acidic than that of the grapefruit.[4][6]
The pomelo has at least sixty cultivars.[7] The fruit generally contains a few, relatively large seeds, but some varieties have numerous seeds.[4] The characteristics of pomelo vary widely across South Asia.[4]
The pomelo is native toSoutheast Asia and all of Malaysia.[4] The tree may have been introduced toChina around 100 BCE, and is now heavily cultivated inSouthern China.[4] Seeds of the tree were first brought to theAmericas in the late 1600s.[4]
Flowering and fruiting branch,chromolithograph by P. Depannemaeker, c. 1885
The pomelo is significant botanically as one of the three major wild ancestors of several cultivatedhybridCitrus species, including thebitter orange and thegrapefruit; and less directly also of thelemon, thesweet orange, and some types ofmandarin.[8][9] The bitter orange is a naturally occurring hybrid between the pomelo and themandarin.[9] The grapefruit is a hybrid between a pomelo and a sweet orange,[9] which is why 63% of the grapefruit's genome comes from the pomelo.[10] The bitter orange is a hybrid of wild type mandarin and pomelo; in turn, the lemon is a hybrid of bitter orange andcitron, i.e. cultivated lemons have some pomelo ancestry.[9] In addition, there has been repeated introgression of pomelogenes 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 cultivatedCitrus.[9]
According to theOxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word 'pomelo' is uncertain.[11] It may be derived from Dutchpompelmoes.[4] The Dutch name in turn has uncertain etymology, but is possibly derived from Dutchpompel 'swollen' orpompoen 'pumpkin', combined withlimoes 'lemon,citrus fruit', influenced by Portugueselimões with the same meaning.[12] An alternative possibility is that the Dutch name derives from Portuguesepomos limões 'citrus fruit'.[12]Thespecific namemaxima is the female form of the Latin for 'biggest'.[13]
One theory for the alternative English name 'shaddock' is that it was adopted after the plant's introduction intoBarbados by a 'Captain Shaddock' of theEast India Company (apparently Philip Chaddock, who visited the island in the late 1640s).[14][15] From there the name spread toJamaica in 1696.[16]
Raw pomelo flesh is 89% water, 10%carbohydrates, 1%protein, and contains negligiblefat. A 100-gram reference amount provides 159 kilojoules (38 kilocalories) offood energy, and is rich invitamin C (68% of theDaily Value), with no othermicronutrients in significant content (table).
The flesh and juice are edible, and the peel may be candied.[4] It is eaten as a dessert, or used in salads.[4] In the Philippines, a pink beverage is made from pomelo andpineapple juice.[26]
In East Asia, especially inCantonese cuisine, braised pomelo pith is used to make dishes that are high infibre and low in fat.[27]
The seeds of the pomelo aremonoembryonic, producing seedlings with genes from both parents, so they do not breed true to type.[29] However, they are usually fairly similar to the tree they grow from and therefore in Asia, pomelos are typically grown from seed.[4] Seeds can be stored for 80 days at a temperature of 5 °C (41 °F) with moderate relative humidity.[4] Pomelos can bepropagated vegetatively byair-layering, by taking cuttings, bygrafting, byshield budding, or bytissue culture.[29]
The pomelo features in cultural and spiritual festivals across Asia. In China, during theLunar 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.[30] In Thailand, pomelo is used in rituals such as theSongkran festival.[31] In the Hindu festival ofChhath Puja, pomelo is used as an offering.[32]
^abcdefghijklmnMorton, Julia F. (1987)."Pummelo:Citrus maxima".Fruits of warm climates. NewCROP, New Crop Resource Online Program, Center for New Crops and Plant Products, Purdue University. pp. 147–151. Retrieved2020-01-31.
^Morton, Julia F. (1987)."Grapefruit:Citrus paradisi".Fruits of warm climates. NewCROP, New Crop Resource Online Program, Center for New Crops and Plant Products, Purdue University. pp. 152–158. Retrieved2020-01-31.
^Klein, Joshua D. (2014). "Citron Cultivation, Production and Uses in the Mediterranean Region".Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the Middle-East. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World. Vol. 2. pp. 199–214.doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9276-9_10.ISBN978-94-017-9275-2.
^"maximus". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved28 October 2024.
^Kumamoto, J.; Scora, R.W.; Lawton, H.W.; Clerx, W.A. (1987). "Mystery of the Forbidden Fruit: Historical Epilogue on the Origin of the Grapefruit,Citrus paradisi (Rutaceae)".Economic Botany.41 (1):97–107.Bibcode:1987EcBot..41...97K.doi:10.1007/BF02859356.S2CID42178548.
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