Hyuganatsu (''Citrus tamurana'', Japanese: 日向夏) is a
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 and plant grown in Japan. The name comes from
Hyūga, the ancient name of
Miyazaki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...
in
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
, where the citrus is said to have originated, while means summer. Hyūganatsu grown outside Kyushu are sometimes shipped under different names such as , , or .
Origin
A hyūganatsu sapling was said to have been found in a
Miyazaki garden sometime in the 1820s, after which it became widely cultivated throughout the region. It is theorized to be either a
mutated
In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, DNA or viral rep ...
yuzu
Yuzu (''Citrus'' × ''junos'', from Japanese language, Japanese or ; ) is a citrus fruit and plant in the family Rutaceae of China, Chinese origin. Yuzu has been cultivated mainly in East Asia, though it has also recently been grown in New Z ...
or perhaps more likely, a chance
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
between yuzu and
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 ...
.
Description
The fruit is of medium size and its shape is round to slightly oblong. When ripe, it turns a light yellow. Its flesh is juicy and sweet with a slightly sour taste.
It is usually eaten cut up, sprinkled with sugar and with most of its rather thick pith intact.
The fruit's
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
is higher than other citrus fruits in
trans-β-farnesene,
l-carvone, and has a higher number of
ketone
In organic chemistry, a ketone is an organic compound with the structure , where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group (a carbon-oxygen double bond C=O). The simplest ketone is acetone ( ...
s.
See also
*
Amanatsu
*
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 ...
*
Ōgonkan
or are the common names for a small sized variety of Japanese citrus, whose rind is of a characteristic "golden" bright yellow color.
The variety has been published as the species ''Citrus flaviculpus'' by Chōzaburō Tanaka in his 160-speci ...
Notes
References
Hyuga Natsu at
Citrus Variety Collection
The UCR Citrus Variety Collection (CVC) is one of the most important collections of citrus diversity in the world. It is used for research, plant breeding, and educational extension activities on the UC Riverside campus in Riverside, California.
...
Hyuganatsu orange (Citrus tamurana Hort. Ex Tanaka) contains a water soluble substance that suppresses bone loss in ovariectomized rats.Effects of storage conditions on the composition of Citrus tamurana Hort. ex Tanaka (hyuganatsu) essential oil
External links
The Flying Kitchen
{{Taxonbar, from=Q130520
Citrus
Fruits originating in East Asia
Japanese fruit