Banpeiyu

Synonyms

Bampeiya, Ban-hakuyu, Banjakuyu, Pal Yau, Pay You (sec. Cottin 2002)

Cultivar or taxon

Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr. (sensu Mabberley 1997, Bayer et al. 2009; sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002); Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967)

Origin

Hodgson (1967) noted that: "Banpeiyu is almost certainly the variety known as Pai You (Yau) on Taiwan. The variety is of unknown Malayan origin and was introduced into Formosa (Taiwan) in 1920, named in 1925, and taken to Japan soon thereafter. It develops high quality fruit only in the hottest regions of southern Japan. Among pummelo varieties, it currently ranks first in Japan and second on Taiwan."

Description

Crown compact or dense, not weeping. First-year twig surface pubescent; second- or third-year twig surface striate; thorns absent or not persistent; prickles absent or not persistent. Petiole pubescent, length medium, wings medium or wide, adjoining the blade or tucking beneath blade. Leaflets one, margin bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades flat or weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly conduplicate. Leaflets sweetly orange-like, spicy or peppery, freshly lemon-like, somewhat to strongly malodorous (?), or not scented when crushed. Fruit broader than long; rind green-yellow (6), yellow (7-10), or yellow-orange (11); rind texture smooth (1-3); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh yellow; taste grapefruit-like.

Hodgson (1967) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar:

"Fruit very large (one of the largest), subglobose to spheroid; seedy. Light yellow. Rind thick; surface smooth and tightly adherent. Segments numerous (15-18); axis large and solid; carpellary membranes thin but tough. Flesh color pale yellow; tender and juicy; flavor excellent, a pleasant blend of sugar and acid. Medium-late in maturity but stores well for several months longer.

Tree very vigorous, spreading and large; leaves large and broadly winged; twigs, new shoot growth, petioles, and lower surface of leaves pubescent."

References

Bayer, R.J., D.J. Mabberley, C. Morton, C.H. Miller, I.K. Sharma, B.E. Pfeil, S. Rich, R. Hitchcock, and S. Sykes. 2009. A molecular phylogeny of the orange subfamily (Rutaceae: Aurantioideae) using nine cpDNA sequences. American Journal of Botany 96: 668–685.

Cottin, R. 2002. Citrus of the World: A citrus directory. Version 2.0. France: SRA INRA-CIRAD.

Mabberley, D.J. 1997. A classification for edible Citrus (Rutaceae). Telopea 7: 167–172.

Swingle, W.T. and P.C. Reece. 1967. The botany of Citrus and its wild relatives. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry. Ed. 2. Vol. I. University of California, Riverside. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html.

Resources

Search for this cultivar in NCBI Entrez or NCBI Nucleotide