Kingdom Plantae Genus Citrus Order Sapindales | Family Rutaceae Rank Subgenus | |
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Similar Citrus, Citrus ichangensis, Citrus latipes, Clymenia, Shangjuan | ||
Papeda is a subgenus of the genus Citrus native to tropical Asia. It includes the Ichang Lemon, yuzu, kaffir lime, kabosu, and sudachi, and a number of wild and uncultivated species and hybrids.
Papeda is the most primitive group of citruses. Because of generally slow growth and bitter, less palatable fruits than in other citruses, its species had only limited commercial cultivation. Some species, like Ichang papeda, are used in landscaping, while others are important for rootstocking and as genome source for breeding disease-resistant and frost-hardy citrus hybrids.
It is believed, based on molecular studies, that the citron, pomelo, mandarin and papeda were the ancestors of all other citrus species and their varieties, which resulted from breeding or natural hybridization among the parental species.
Species
The subgenus includes cultivated plants such as (believed hybrid parentage in parentheses):
and a number of wild and uncultivated species and hybrids, including: