Citrus depressa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Citrus depressa |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Shiikwāsā on a tree | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Citrus
|
| Species: |
depressa
|
Citrus depressa (Citrus × depressa, formerly C. pectinifera, Okinawan: シークヮーサー/シークァーサー, romanized: shiikwaasa, Japanese: ヒラミレモン, romanized: hirami remon or シークワーサー, shiikuwāsā, in English sometimes called shiikuwasha, shequasar, Taiwan tangerine, Okinawa lime, flat lemon, hirami lemon, or thin-skinned flat lemon, is a small, green citrus fruit rich in flavonoids and native to East Asia (Taiwan Island and Okinawa Islands, Japan).
Very sour, it is often used like lemon or lime to garnish dishes, but is also used to make jam, or a yellow juice, which can be thinned or sweetened.
Its name is occasionally translated into English as calamansî (calamondin), but strictly speaking, this is a different fruit.
Shiikuwasha is primarily produced in southwest Japan, in the northern region of the main Okinawa island, along with another indigenous Japanese citrus, Tachibana (Citrus tachibana). The two are not the only species of citrus currently growing on the island, as there have been foreign species introduced and have since been crossbred alongside Citrus depressa. Despite the varying diversity of citrus currently found in the region, only Shiikuwasha and Tachibana are native to this region, originating in the Ryukyu Islands.
Description
Citrus depressa is grown in Okinawa and Taiwan. Shikuwasa is grown in Okinawa. This flat lemon is a flowering tree with an average height of 3–5 m (9.8–16.4 ft). The appearance is similar to calamansi. The flowers, white and about 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter, usually bloom in April. The fruit, which appear around July, weigh about 25–60 g (0.88–2.12 oz). Unripe, the skin is a dark green, which becomes yellow during ripening. The fruits have a very low sugar content and are very sour.
Genetics
Genetic analysis of shiikuwasha and other Asian island mandarin orange varieties revealed this group to be a family of independent clonal F1 hybrids, arising from multiple crosses between a native Ryukyu Islands mandarin species, C. ryukyuensis, and a mainland-Asian mandarin C. reticulata still found on Okinawa, designated RK3 by the researchers. This mainland parent is related to the Chinese Sun Chu Sha mandarin but has small amounts of pomello introgression that was passed on to the shiikuwasha. The mainland parent reproduces clonally, as do the shiikuwasha progeny of numerous independent hybridization events with distinct individual sexually-reproducing Ryukyu mandarin parents, sometimes serving as seed parent and sometimes as pollen parent. This varied origin, plus the fact that shiikuwasha grow wild and are referred to in some of the earliest poetry of the island kingdoms, suggest that the hybridizations occurred naturally.
See also
In Spanish: Shikwasa para niños
