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Micrantha (citrus)
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<h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p>The micrantha was first described to Western science in 1915 by <a href="/facts/Peter_Jansen_Wester/fHHCXpJE">Peter Jansen Wester</a>, who worked for the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture at the time. </p> <h3>Biasong</h3> <p>Wester collected ripe fruit specimens of biasong (small-flowered papeda, <i>Citrus hystrix</i> var. <i>micrantha</i>) on islands of Cebu, Bohol, <a href="/facts/Dumaguete/X37NP2a8">Dumaguete</a>, <a href="/facts/Negros_(island)/NYeGDemM">Negros</a>, and in the <a href="/facts/Zamboanga_(province)/NIXYqwK3">Zamboanga</a> and <a href="/facts/Misamis_(province)/SFguWavv">Misamis</a> provinces in <a href="/facts/Mindanao/szgkAsAV">Mindanao</a>. The fruits were collected throughout the year, indicating that the plant is ever-bearing. Biasong is characterized by small flowers (thus the "small-flowered" moniker) with fewer <a href="/facts/Stamen/MzNPVK3D">stamens</a> than other papedas and oblong-obovate, few-<a href="/facts/Locule/0j8YPj1q">loculed</a> fruits. Though the fruit is not eaten and with little economic importance, its juice is used as a souring agent for <a href="/facts/Kinilaw/LarXbhI6">kinilaw</a>, or for hair-washing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>Biasong's aroma is similar to that of the samuyao variety of micrantha. The tree reaches 7.5 to 9 metres (25 to 30 ft) in height. Leaves are 9–12 cm (3.5–4.7 in) long, 2.7–4.0 cm (1.1–1.6 in) wide, broadly elliptical to <a href="/facts/Ovate_(leaf)/GfSyEn7C">ovate</a>, <a href="/facts/Crenate/1m6wCNTg">crenate</a>, thin, with base rounded or broadly acute; apex acutely blunt pointed. <a href="/facts/Petiole_(botany)/pext65Wr">Petioles</a> are 3.5–6 cm (1.4–2.4 in) long, broadly winged, up to 4 cm (1.6 in) wide, with wings (phyllodes) sometimes larger than the leaf. Flowers are small, four-petaled, white with a thin purple edge, 12–13 mm (0.47–0.51 in) in diameter, forming <a href="/facts/Cyme_(botany)/CvpNd4vS">cymes</a> of two to five. There are 15 to 17 equal <a href="/facts/Stamen/MzNPVK3D">stamens</a>. The ovary is obovoid, with 6 to 8 slender, distinct <a href="/facts/Locule/0j8YPj1q">locules</a>. Fruits are <a href="/facts/Obovate/GfSyEn7C">obovate</a> to oblong-obovate, 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) long, with diameter of 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in), averaging 26 g (0.92 oz) in weight; their skin is rather thick, lemon-yellow, fairly smooth or with transverse corrugations; the pulp is juicy, grayish and acid, while juice cells are short and blunt to long, long, slender and pointed, sometimes containing a minute, greenish nucleus. They have numerous flat, pointed, reticulate seeds.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h3>Samuyao</h3> <p>Wester collected ripe samuyao (small-fruited papeda, <i>Citrus hystrix</i> var. <i>microcarpa</i>) fruit specimens from cultivation in Cebu and Bohol in June, and from November to February. Samuyao is rather smaller than biasong, with trees attaining 4.5 meters. It has small, thin leaves and flowers comparable in size to biasong. The fruit, 15–20 mm in diameter, is likely to be the smallest in the whole genus.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> Wester also recorded a somewhat more vigorous variety, called "samuyao-sa-amoo" in Bohol, with slightly larger fruits; there is a possibility that this species was actually <i>Limonellus aurarius</i>, described by <a href="/facts/Georg_Eberhard_Rumphius/d61rzmJG">Georg Eberhard Rumphius</a> back in 1741 in a nearby area, although his description also fits a number of related species.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> Wester gave the botanical description:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <p>A shrubby tree, 4.5 meters tall, with slender branches and small, weak spines; leaves 55 to 80 millimeters long, 20 to 25 millimeters broad, ovate to ovate-oblong or elliptical, crenulate, thin, of distinct fragrance, base rounded to broadly acute; apex obtuse, sometimes notched, petioles 20 to 30 millimeters long, broadly winged, about 14 millimeters wide, wing area somewhat less than one-half of the leaf blade; flowers in compact axillary or terminal cymes, 2 to 7, small, 5 to 9 millimeters in diameter, white, with trace of purple on the outside; calyx small, not cupped, petals 3 to 5; stamens 15 to 18, free, equal; ovary very small, globose to obovate; locules 7 to 9, style distinct; stigma small, knob like; fruit 15 to 20 millimeters in diameter, roundish in outline; base sometimes nippled; apex an irregular, wrinkly cavity; surface corrugate, greenish lemon yellow; oil cells usually sunken; skin very thin; pulp fairly juicy, acid, bitter with distinct aroma; juice cells very minute, blunt, containing a small, greenish nucleus; seeds small, flattened, sometimes beaked.</p> <p>Clear, intensely fragrant oil can be produced from the samuyao peel, and it has been used as a hair fragrance by women who live where it grows.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="toxicity">Toxicity</h2> <p>The micrantha contains a significant amount of <a href="/facts/Bergapten/onyqB61K">bergapten</a>, a linear <a href="/facts/Furanocoumarin/SVQNNAfM">furanocoumarin</a> well known for its <a href="/facts/Phototoxicity/9MjkWKEM">phototoxic</a> effects.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> Of 61 <i>Citrus</i> varieties tested, <i>C. micrantha</i> had the highest concentration of bergapten of any <i>Citrus</i> species.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> In particular, <i>C. micrantha</i> contained almost twice as much bergapten as the <a href="/facts/Bergamot_orange/bNcrSLhS">bergamot orange</a> whose essential oil is highly phototoxic. Indiscriminate use of <a href="/facts/Bergamot_essential_oil/xpvYr56v">bergamot essential oil</a> has led to several cases of <a href="/facts/Phytophotodermatitis/DdxCVdsq">phytophotodermatitis</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> a potentially severe skin inflammation. In these cases, the primary causal agent is believed to be bergapten. </p> <h2 id="hybrids">Hybrids</h2> <p>The <a href="/facts/Key_lime/LAANrAM9">Key lime</a> (<i>Citrus aurantifolia</i>) is a hybrid of the micrantha and the <a href="/facts/Citron/0nFo32yD">citron</a>. It, in turn, has been crossed with a <a href="/facts/Lemon/dYYzVCVq">lemon</a> to produce the <a href="/facts/Persian_lime/rLNB8Q3e">Persian lime</a> (<i>C. latifolia</i>). There are <a href="/facts/Lumia_(citrus)/cFJNkfal">lumias</a> that are distinct micrantha/citron hybrids, such as the Pomme d'Adam, while other lumias, like the <a href="/facts/Borneo/1aIGfyvV">Borneo</a> lemons, are micrantha/citron/pomelo tri-species hybrids.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> An Indonesian hybrid, the nansaran (<i>C. amblycarpa</i>), is a <i>C. hystrix</i>/<i>C. reticulata</i> cross.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Citrus micrantha. <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://pinoytrees.blogspot.com/2008/11/searching-for-elusive-samuyao.html">Searching for the Elusive Samuyao</a>, "Our Philippine Trees" blog</li> <li><a href="http://pinoytrees.blogspot.com/2008/11/looking-for-elusive-biyasong.html">Looking for the Elusive Biyasong</a>, "Our Philippine Trees" blog</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>P. J. Wester (1915), "Citrus Fruits In The Philippines", Philippine Agricultural Review, 8 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35816/35816-h/35816-h.htm#pb21" target="_blank">http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35816/35816-h/35816-h.htm#pb21</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Jorma Koskinen, "Small-flowered and Small-fruited papeda", Citrus Pages <a href="http://citruspages.free.fr/papedas.html#smallfloweredpapeda" target="_blank">http://citruspages.free.fr/papedas.html#smallfloweredpapeda</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Ollitrault, Patrick; Curk, Franck; Krueger, Robert (2020). "Citrus taxonomy". In Talon, Manuel; Caruso, Marco; Gmitter, Fred G Jr. (eds.). The Citrus Genus. Elsevier. pp. 57–81. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-812163-4.00004-8. ISBN 9780128121634. S2CID 242819146. <a href="9780128121634" target="_blank">9780128121634</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Khan, Iqrar A.; Grosser, Jude W. (2004-05-01). "Regeneration and characterization of somatic hybrid plants of Citrus sinensis (sweet orange) and Citrus micrantha, a progenitor species of lime". Euphytica. 137 (2). Kluwer Academic Publishers: 271–278. doi:10.1023/B:EUPH.0000041591.65333.3c. ISSN 1573-5060. S2CID 12880471. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>P. J. Wester (1915), "Citrus Fruits In The Philippines", Philippine Agricultural Review, 8 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35816/35816-h/35816-h.htm#pb21" target="_blank">http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35816/35816-h/35816-h.htm#pb21</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>P. J. Wester (1915), "Citrus Fruits In The Philippines", Philippine Agricultural Review, 8 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35816/35816-h/35816-h.htm#pb21" target="_blank">http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35816/35816-h/35816-h.htm#pb21</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Swingle, Walter T. (1943). "The Botany of Citrus and Its Wild Relatives". The Citrus Industry, Vol 1 (Rev). Berkeley: Univ of California Press. Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. <a href="https://archive.today/20130901030802/http://websites.lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html#citrinae" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130901030802/http://websites.lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html#citrinae</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Swingle, Walter T. (1943). "The Botany of Citrus and Its Wild Relatives". The Citrus Industry, Vol 1 (Rev). Berkeley: Univ of California Press. Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. <a href="https://archive.today/20130901030802/http://websites.lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html#citrinae" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130901030802/http://websites.lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html#citrinae</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>P. J. Wester (1915), "Citrus Fruits In The Philippines", Philippine Agricultural Review, 8 <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35816/35816-h/35816-h.htm#pb21" target="_blank">http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35816/35816-h/35816-h.htm#pb21</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Swingle, Walter T. (1943). "The Botany of Citrus and Its Wild Relatives". The Citrus Industry, Vol 1 (Rev). Berkeley: Univ of California Press. Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. <a href="https://archive.today/20130901030802/http://websites.lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html#citrinae" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130901030802/http://websites.lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html#citrinae</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>McGovern, Thomas W.; Barkley, Theodore M. (2000). "Botanical Dermatology". The Electronic Textbook of Dermatology. 37 (5). Internet Dermatology Society. Section Phytophotodermatitis. doi:10.1046/j.1365-4362.1998.00385.x. PMID 9620476. S2CID 221810453. Retrieved November 29, 2018. <a href="http://telemedicine.org/botanica/bot1.htm" target="_blank">http://telemedicine.org/botanica/bot1.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Dugrand-Judek, Audray; Olry, Alexandre; Hehn, Alain; Costantino, Gilles; Ollitrault, Patrick; Froelicher, Yann; Bourgaud, Frédéric (November 2015). "The Distribution of Coumarins and Furanocoumarins in Citrus Species Closely Matches Citrus Phylogeny and Reflects the Organization of Biosynthetic Pathways". PLOS ONE. 10 (11): e0142757. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1042757D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142757. PMC 4641707. PMID 26558757. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4641707" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4641707</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Kaddu, S.; Kerl, H.; Wolf, P. (2001). "Accidental bullous phototoxic reactions to bergamot aromatherapy oil". J Am Acad Dermatol. 45 (3): 458–461. doi:10.1067/mjd.2001.116226. PMID 11511848. Cited in CIR 2013. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Cocks, H.; Wilson, D. (1998). "Letters to the Editor". Burns. 24 (1): 80. doi:10.1016/S0305-4179(97)00102-2. PMID 9601600. Cited in CIR 2013. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Ollitrault, Patrick; Curk, Franck; Krueger, Robert (2020). "Citrus taxonomy". In Talon, Manuel; Caruso, Marco; Gmitter, Fred G Jr. (eds.). The Citrus Genus. Elsevier. pp. 57–81. <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Ollitrault, Patrick; Curk, Franck; Krueger, Robert (2020). "Citrus taxonomy". In Talon, Manuel; Caruso, Marco; Gmitter, Fred G Jr. (eds.). The Citrus Genus. Elsevier. pp. 57–81. <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>