The fruit generally contains a few, relatively large seeds, but some varieties have numerous seeds. The enveloping membranes around the segments are chewy and bitter, considered inedible, and usually discarded. The flesh tastes like mild grapefruit, with a little of its common bitterness (the grapefruit is a hybrid of the pomelo and the orange). It has a thicker rind than a grapefruit, and is divided into 11 to 18 segments. The fruit is large, 15–25 cm (6–10 in) in diameter, usually weighing 1–2 kilograms (2–4 pounds). The flowers - single or in clusters - are fragrant and yellow-white in color. Their leaf petioles are distinctly winged, with alternate, ovate or elliptic shapes 5–20 cm (2–8 in) long, with a leathery, dull green upper layer, and hairy under-leaf. The pomelo tree may be 5–15 meters (16–50 feet) tall, possibly with a crooked trunk 10–30 centimeters (4–12 inches) thick, and low-hanging, irregular branches. The fruit is also known as jambola in varieties of English spoken in South Asia. From there the name spread to Jamaica in 1696. In English, the word "pomelo" (also spelt pummelo, pumelo, pomello, pommelo) has become the more common name, although "pomelo" has historically been used for grapefruit.Īfter introduction into Barbados by 'Captain Shaddock' of the East India Company (apparently Philip Chaddock, who visited the island in the late 1640s ), the fruit was called shaddock in English. Its botanical name, Citrus maxima, means "the biggest citrus". As with the grapefruit, phytochemicals in the pomelo have the potential for drug interactions.Īccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word "pomelo" is uncertain. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefruit, the pomelo is commonly consumed and used for festive occasions throughout Southeast Asia. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. The pomelo ( / ˈ p ɒ m ɪ l oʊ, ˈ p ʌ m-/ POM-il-oh, PUM- Citrus maxima), from the family Rutaceae, is the largest citrus fruit, and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit.
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