Pomelo

Pomelo
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	C. maxima
Binomial name
Citrus maxima ( Merr.

The pomelo (/ˈpɒmɪloʊ, ˈpʌm-/ POM-il-oh, PUM-;^[2][3] Citrus maxima), from the family Rutaceae, is the largest citrus fruit, and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit.^[4] It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia.^[4] Similar in taste to a sweet grapefruit, the pomelo is commonly consumed and used for festive occasions throughout Southeast Asia and East Asia. As with the grapefruit, phytochemicals in the pomelo have the potential for drug interactions.

Description

The pomelo tree may be 5–15 meters (16–50 feet) tall, possibly with a crooked trunk 10–30 centimeters (4–12 inches) thick, and low-hanging, irregular branches.^[4] Their leaf petioles are distinctly winged, with alternate, ovate or elliptic shapes 5–20 cm (2–8 in) long, with a leathery, dull green upper layer, and hairy under-leaf.^[4] The flowers — single or in clusters — are fragrant and yellow-white in color.^[4]

The fruit is large, 15–25 cm (6–10 in) in diameter,^[5] usually weighing 1–2 kilograms (2–4 pounds). It has a thicker rind than a grapefruit,^[4] and is divided into 11 to 18 segments. The flesh tastes like mild grapefruit, with a little of its common bitterness (the grapefruit is a hybrid of the pomelo and the orange).^[4][6] The enveloping membranes around the segments are chewy and bitter, considered inedible, and usually discarded.^[4] There are at least sixty varieties.^[7] The fruit generally contains a few, relatively large seeds, but some varieties have numerous seeds.^[4]

History

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word "pomelo" is uncertain.^[8] It may be derived from Dutch pompelmoes.^[4] Its botanical name, Citrus maxima, means "the biggest citrus". In English, the word "pomelo" (also spelt pummelo, pumelo, pomello, pommelo) has become the more common name, although "pomelo" has historically been used for grapefruit.

After introduction into Barbados by 'Captain Shaddock' of the East India Company (apparently Philip Chaddock, who visited the island in the late 1640s^[9]), the fruit was called shaddock in English.^[10][11] From there the name spread to Jamaica in 1696.^[12] The fruit is also known as jambola in varieties of English spoken in South Asia.^[4]

Composition

Nutrition

Pomelo, raw

Flesh of a pomelo
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	159 kJ (38 kcal)
Carbohydrates	9.62 g
Dietary fiber	1 g
Fat	0.04 g
Protein	0.76 g
Niacin (B3)	1% 0.22 mg
Vitamin B6	2% 0.036 mg
Vitamin C	68% 61 mg
Minerals	Quantity %DV†
Iron	1% 0.11 mg
Magnesium	1% 6 mg
Manganese	1% 0.017 mg
Phosphorus	1% 17 mg
Potassium	7% 216 mg
Sodium	0% 1 mg
Zinc	1% 0.08 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	89 g
Link to USDA Database entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[13] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[14]

Raw pomelo flesh is 89% water, 10%

Pomelo, while not itself toxic, may cause adverse interactions with some prescription drugs similar to those caused by grapefruit and some other citrus fruits, through the inhibition of

• Dangyuja

Possible non-hybrid pomelos

• Banpeiyu

Hybrids

The pomelo is one of the original citrus species from which cultivated citrus fruits have been hybridized, others being citron, mandarin, and to a lesser extent, papedas and kumquat. In particular, the common orange is presumed to be a naturally occurring hybrid between the pomelo and the mandarin, with the pomelo as larger and firmer of the two. 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.^[16]

The pomelo is employed today in artificial breeding programs:

• The common
  sweet orange
  (Citrus × sinensis) is a pomelo × mandarin hybrid
• The bitter orange (Citrus × aurantium) is another pomelo × mandarin hybrid
• The tangelo is a hybrid between pomelo or grapefruit and any tangerine; it generally has a thicker skin than a tangerine and is less sweet
  • 'K–Early' ('Sunrise Tangelo')^[17]
  • '
    Dancy tangerine^[17]
  • Dancy tangerine (pollen parent)^[17]
  • Dancy tangerine^[17]
  • 'Thornton': tangerine × grapefruit, unspecified^[17]
  • '
    Ugli fruit' (Jamaican tangelo): mandarin × grapefruit, probable (wild seedling)^[17]
• sweet orange
  (see above)
• Forbidden fruit: another Caribbean pomelo/sweet orange cross
• 'Nova': Clementine × Orlando tangelo cross^[17]
• The Oroblanco and Melogold grapefruits are hybrids between Citrus maxima and the grapefruit
• Mandelos: pomelo × mandarin
• Mato buntan: a variety in Taiwan^[18]
• Hyuganatsu is a pomelo hybrid
• Kawachi Bankan: ujukitsu x unidentified
• Shishi-yuzu, also called Oni-yuzu: Citrus x pseudogulgul is a pomelo hybrid.^[19] It is not a variety of yuzu, despite the name.

Uses

Culinary

The flesh and juice can be consumed, and the rind is used to make

The fruit may have been introduced to China around 100 BCE.[4] In East Asia, especially in Cantonese cuisine, braised pomelo pith is used to make dishes that are high in fibre and low in fat.^[21]

Cultivation

Propagation

The seeds of the pomelo are

The physical and chemical characteristics of pomelo vary widely across South Asia.[4]

Gallery

• 
  Flowering and fruiting branch with numbered fruit segment and flower section, chromolithograph by P. Depannemaeker, c. 1885, after B. Hoola van Nooten
• 
  Vertical cross section
• 
  Pomelos
• 
  Pomelo after being cut
• 
  Pink pomelo juice vesicles
• 
  Pomelo blossom
• 
  Pomelo on tree, has fruit and blossoms at the same time
• 
  Fujian's Pinghe County is famous in China for its pomelos
• 
  Pomelo orchard
• 
  Pink pomelo
• 
  Pomelo seedling
• 
  Closeup of pomelo petiole
• 
  Ipoh pomelos on sale at Chinatown, Singapore
• 
  Tam som-o nam pu: spicy Thai pomelo salad with crab extract
• 
  The large segments inside a pomelo, containing the fruit’s juice vesicles.

References