Micrantha (citrus)
| Micrantha | |
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| Species: | C. hystrix
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| Binomial name | |
| Citrus hystrix | |
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Themicranthais a wildcitrusfrom thepapedagroup, native to southernPhilippines,particularly islands ofCebuandBohol.Twovarietiesare recognized:small-flowered papeda(C. hystrixvar.micrantha), locally known asbiasong,andsmall-fruited papeda(C. hystrixvar.microcarpa) orsamuyao.[3][4]
Long[who?]viewed as a separate species,C. micrantha,it is now generally viewed to fall withinCitrus hystrix,but genomic data on the latter is insufficient for a definitive conclusion.[5]A micrantha was one of theprogenitorspecies of some varieties oflime.[6]
Description[edit]
The micrantha was first described to Western science in 1915 byPeter Jansen Wester,who worked for the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture at the time.
Biasong[edit]
Wester collected ripe fruit specimens of biasong (small-flowered papeda,Citrus hystrixvar.micrantha) on islands of Cebu, Bohol,Dumaguete,Negros,and in theZamboangaandMisamisprovinces inMindanao.The fruits were collected throughout the year, indicating that the plant is ever-bearing. Biasong is characterized by small flowers (thus the "small-flowered" moniker) with fewerstamensthan other papedas and oblong-obovate, few-loculedfruits. Though the fruit is not eaten and with little economic importance, its juice is used as a souring agent forkinilaw,or for hair-washing.[3]
Biasong's aroma is similar to that of the samuyao variety of micrantha. The tree reaches 7.5 to 9 metres (25 to 30 ft) in height. Leaves are 9–12 cm (3.5–4.7 in) long, 2.7–4.0 cm (1.1–1.6 in) wide, broadly elliptical toovate,crenate,thin, with base rounded or broadly acute; apex acutely blunt pointed.Petiolesare 3.5–6 cm (1.4–2.4 in) long, broadly winged, up to 4 cm (1.6 in) wide, with wings (phyllodes) sometimes larger than the leaf. Flowers are small, four-petaled, white with a thin purple edge, 12–13 mm (0.47–0.51 in) in diameter, formingcymesof two to five. There are 15 to 17 equalstamens.The ovary is obovoid, with 6 to 8 slender, distinctlocules.Fruits areobovateto oblong-obovate, 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) long, with diameter of 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in), averaging 26 g (0.92 oz) in weight; their skin is rather thick, lemon-yellow, fairly smooth or with transverse corrugations; the pulp is juicy, grayish and acid, while juice cells are short and blunt to long, long, slender and pointed, sometimes containing a minute, greenish nucleus. They have numerous flat, pointed,reticulateseeds.[3]
Samuyao[edit]
Wester collected ripe samuyao (small-fruited papeda,Citrus hystrixvar.microcarpa) fruit specimens from cultivation in Cebu and Bohol in June, and from November to February. Samuyao is rather smaller than biasong, with trees attaining 4.5 meters. It has small, thin leaves and flowers comparable in size to biasong. The fruit, 15–20 mm in diameter, is likely to be the smallest in the whole genus.[8]Wester also recorded a somewhat more vigorous variety, called "samuyao-sa-amoo" in Bohol, with slightly larger fruits; there is a possibility that this species was actuallyLimonellus aurarius,described byGeorg Eberhard Rumphiusback in 1741 in a nearby area, although his description also fits a number of related species.[8] Wester gave the botanical description:[3]
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, ovate to ovate-oblong or elliptical, crenulate, thin, of distinct fragrance, base rounded to broadly acute; apex obtuse, sometimes notched, petioles 20 to 30 millimeters long, broadly winged, about 14 millimeters wide, wing area somewhat less than one-half of the leaf blade; flowers in compact axillary or terminal cymes, 2 to 7, small, 5 to 9 millimeters in diameter, white, with trace of purple on the outside; calyx small, not cupped, petals 3 to 5; stamens 15 to 18, free, equal; ovary very small, globose to obovate; locules 7 to 9, style distinct; stigma small, knob like; 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.
Clear, intensely fragrant oil can be produced from the samuyao peel, and it has been used as a hair fragrance by women who live where it grows.[8]
Toxicity[edit]
The micrantha contains a significant amount ofbergapten,a linearfuranocoumarinwell known for itsphototoxiceffects.[9]Of 61Citrusvarieties tested,C. micranthahad the highest concentration of bergapten of anyCitrusspecies.[10]In particular,C. micranthacontained almost twice as much bergapten as thebergamot orangewhose essential oil is highly phototoxic. Indiscriminate use ofbergamot essential oilhas led to several cases ofphytophotodermatitis,[11][12]a potentially severe skin inflammation. In these cases, the primary causal agent is believed to be bergapten.
Hybrids[edit]
TheKey lime(Citrus aurantifolia) is a hybrid of the micrantha and thecitron.It, in turn, has been crossed with alemonto produce thePersian lime(C. latifolia). There arelumiasthat are distinct micrantha/citron hybrids, such as the Pomme d'Adam, while other lumias, like theBorneolemons, are micrantha/citron/pomelo tri-species hybrids.[13]An Indonesian hybrid, the nansaran (C. amblycarpa), is aC. hystrix/C. reticulatacross.[13]
References[edit]
- ^"Citrus westeri".Germplasm Resources Information Network.Agricultural Research Service,United States Department of Agriculture.Retrieved16 January2018.
- ^Citrus micranthawas first described and published inPhilippine Agricultural Review1915, viii. 20."Plant Name Details forCitrus micrantha".IPNI.Retrieved2 September2015.
- ^abcdP. J. Wester (1915),"Citrus Fruits In The Philippines",Philippine Agricultural Review,8
- ^Jorma Koskinen,"Small-flowered and Small-fruited papeda",Citrus Pages
- ^Ollitrault, Patrick; Curk, Franck; Krueger, Robert (2020)."Citrustaxonomy ".In Talon, Manuel; Caruso, Marco; Gmitter, Fred G Jr. (eds.).The Citrus Genus.Elsevier. pp. 57–81.doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-812163-4.00004-8.ISBN9780128121634.S2CID242819146.
- ^Khan, Iqrar A.; Grosser, Jude W. (2004-05-01). "Regeneration and characterization of somatic hybrid plants of Citrus sinensis (sweet orange) and Citrus micrantha, a progenitor species of lime".Euphytica.137(2). Kluwer Academic Publishers: 271–278.doi:10.1023/B:EUPH.0000041591.65333.3c.ISSN1573-5060.S2CID12880471.
- ^Fuller, Dorian Q.; Castillo, Cristina; Kingwell-Banham, Eleanor; Qin, Ling; Weisskopf, Alison (2017)."Charred pomelo peel, historical linguistics and other tree crops: approaches to framing the historical context of early Citrus cultivation in East, South and Southeast Asia".In Zech-Matterne, Véronique; Fiorentino, Girolamo (eds.).AGRUMED: Archaeology and history of citrus fruit in the Mediterranean(PDF).Publications du Centre Jean Bérard. pp. 29–48.doi:10.4000/books.pcjb.2107.ISBN9782918887775.
- ^abcSwingle, Walter T. (1943)."The Botany of Citrus and Its Wild Relatives".The Citrus Industry, Vol 1 (Rev).Berkeley: Univ of California Press. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-09-01.
- ^McGovern, Thomas W.; Barkley, Theodore M. (2000)."Botanical Dermatology".The Electronic Textbook of Dermatology.37(5). Internet Dermatology Society. SectionPhytophotodermatitis.doi:10.1046/j.1365-4362.1998.00385.x.PMID9620476.S2CID221810453.RetrievedNovember 29,2018.
- ^Dugrand-Judek, Audray; Olry, Alexandre; Hehn, Alain; Costantino, Gilles; Ollitrault, Patrick; Froelicher, Yann; Bourgaud, Frédéric (November 2015)."The Distribution of Coumarins and Furanocoumarins inCitrusSpecies Closely MatchesCitrusPhylogeny and Reflects the Organization of Biosynthetic Pathways ".PLOS ONE.10(11): e0142757.Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1042757D.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142757.PMC4641707.PMID26558757.
- ^Kaddu, S.; Kerl, H.; Wolf, P. (2001). "Accidental bullous phototoxic reactions to bergamot aromatherapy oil".J Am Acad Dermatol.45(3): 458–461.doi:10.1067/mjd.2001.116226.PMID11511848.Cited inCIR 2013.
- ^Cocks, H.; Wilson, D. (1998). "Letters to the Editor".Burns.24(1): 80.doi:10.1016/S0305-4179(97)00102-2.PMID9601600.Cited inCIR 2013.
- ^abOllitrault, Patrick; Curk, Franck; Krueger, Robert (2020). "Citrus taxonomy". In Talon, Manuel; Caruso, Marco; Gmitter, Fred G Jr. (eds.).The Citrus Genus.Elsevier. pp. 57–81.
External links[edit]
- Searching for the Elusive Samuyao,"Our Philippine Trees" blog
- Looking for the Elusive Biyasong,"Our Philippine Trees" blog
