Byeonggyul () in standard

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

and ''benjul'' (; ) in Jeju, ''Citrus platymamma'', is a

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

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 ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

native to

Jeju Island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

Etymology

Jeju ''benjul'' () and

''byeonggyul'' () are cognates. They share the same

Hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

characters: ''byeong'' (, "bottle") and ''gyul'' (, "citrus fruit"). '' Tamnaji'', a chronicle of

published in 1653 by a Joseon governor, Yi Wŏnjin, mentions ''byeonggyul'' using the name ''byeolgyul'' (). According to the author, the fruit is usually called ''byeonggyul'' (), because its shape tapers towards the top and resembles an upside down ''jongji'' ().

History

Two old byeonggyul trees in Doryeon-dong were designated as treasures of Jeju on 7 January 1998; However, one died on 5 October 2005. The remaining tree was designated as a Natural Monument of South Korea on 13 January 2011. It is presumed to be around 250 years old, and can be found at 21, Doryeon 6-gil, Jeju, Jeju Province (). In 2010, several 80-year-old byeonggyul trees were transplanted to Geummul orchard, an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

once set out for growing

es consumed at the court of the

Joseon Dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

. It disappeared with the end of the dynasty and was restored in 2010 by Seogwipo Agricultural Technology Center.

Description

Genomic evidence has suggested that byeonggyul, sweet oranges, and

key lime The Key lime or acid lime (''Citrus'' × ''aurantiifolia'' or ''C. aurantifolia'') is a citrus hybrid (''kaffir lime, C. hystrix'' × ''citron, C. medica'') native to tropical Southeast Asia. It has a spherical fruit, in diameter. The Key lime ...

s shared a common ancestor. Byeonggyul is known to be more resistant to cold,

blight Blight is a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism. Description Blight is a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral organs. A ...

and insect attack than other related citrus fruits. The thornless tree grows to tall and around wide. The dense, thin and low

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

es give the tree a

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

by appearance. Its

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

with pointy tips, around long and around wide. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are formed of five white

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s. Like that of the related

es, the byeonggyul fruit has a fragrant dimpled rind. The

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

to yellow-orange fruit with an elongated basal portion and a bulbous end grows to long and broad. It weighs around .

Uses

The flesh can be eaten raw, and the peel can be used fresh or dried, whole or zested. Fresh zest of a byeonggyul is used for ''

tteok ''Tteok'' () is a general term for Korean rice cakes. They are made with steamed flour of various grains, especially glutinous rice, glutinous and non-glutinous Japonica rice, rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make ...

'' (rice cakes) and other Korean food as a spice or garnish, while dried peel is usually used for making tea. Byeonggyul tea was used as a

home remedy Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

to treat respiratory ailments, loss of

appetite Appetite is the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger. Appealing foods can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be greatly reduced by satiety. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to reg ...

or minor digestive problems.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21247842 Citrus Endemic flora of South Korea Jeju Province Korean fruit