Banpeiyu () is a

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

pomelo The pomelo ( ; 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 fr ...

which produces extremely large fruits. A banpeiyu fruit became the world's heaviest pomelo when it was presented by Seiji Sonoda from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

at the Banpeiyu Competition in

Yatsushiro, Kumamoto file:Yatsushiro City Hall 2023-2.JPG, 270px, Yatsushiro City Hall file:Yatsushiro castle.JPG, 270px, ruins of Yatsushiro Castle is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 120,389 in ...

, Japan on December 25, 2014. This specimen weighed 4.8597 kg (10 lb 11.3 oz) with a circumference of 83.5 cm (32.8 in). The fruit of the banpeiyu is very popular in Japan for eating fresh, due to its blend of mild acidity and pleasant sweetness. It is also used in the production of fruit jelly.

Origin and names

Banpeiyu is mostly known today as a

Japanese citrus Japanese citrus fruits were first mentioned in the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihonshoki'', compiled in the 700s, and the ''Man'yōshū'' and ''Kokin Wakashū'', poetry anthologies compiled in the 700s and 900s, mention the Tachibana orange as a subject ...

and is ranked as the most popular pomelo cultivar in Japan, producing high quality fruits in the hottest regions of the country. Nevertheless, it is assumed to be of unknown, possibly Malayan origin, and arrived in Japan via Taiwan where it was introduced in 1920, and is sometimes referred to as a Taiwan pomelo. It also has many other names, which are similar in pronunciation to ''pay you''.Banpeiyu
in Citrus ID
Banpeiyu
at the Citrus Variety Collection website

Description

The tree is large and of vigorous growth. New buds are hairy, as are the underside of the leaves. The fruit is very large and nearly spherical, with a thick pith which is pale yellow and smooth.

Juice vesicles The juice vesicles, also known as citrus kernels (in aggregate, citrus pulp), of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit's endocarp. The vesicles contain the juice of the fruit and appear shiny and saclike. Vesicles come in two sha ...

are likewise pale yellow, firm but tender and juicy, with an excellent balanced flavour between sweet and tart, separated into 15–18 segments with thin but tough walls. The fruit is harvested during medium to late season and keeps fresh for several months.

In Japanese culture

In Japan, whole banpeiyu and other ''

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

'' fruits are placed in bathtubs for aroma and used as a remedy for colds.Slow food
There is a bathhouse in

, Japan, that is named "Banpeiyu" after the fruit.

References

External links

Flickr
Large banpeiyu citrus fruit compared with hen's egg and mandarin orange.
''Japan Times''

"Bigger than the Biggest Grapefruit You’ve Ever Seen"
at ''Jeffrey Friedl's Blog''
"Inhibitory effects of citrus fruits on cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) activity in humans"

"Production of Haploid Plant of 'Banpeiyu' Pummelo by Pollination with Soft X-Ray-Irradiated Pollen"

"Morphological characteristics of fruit in a haploid pummelo"

"Pathogenic Interactions Between ''Xanthomonas axonopodis'' pv. ''citri'' and Cultivars of Pummelo (''Citrus grandis'')"
{{citrus Citrus Culture of Japan Fruits originating in East Asia