This one’s grown for history more than flavor, which is a first for the citrus collection here.
The Basics
Tachibana, Citrus tachibana, is a small citrus shrub in the family Rutaceae, like our kafir lime and the rest of the citrus collection, and along with Okinawa’s shikwaasaa, one of the only two citrus species genuinely native to Japan.
Origin and Habitat
Grows wild in forests from southern Taiwan up through southwestern Japan, and is now rare enough in the wild to appear on Japan’s threatened plants list.
What It Looks Like
A small evergreen shrub with small, fragrant white flowers, some genuinely intimidating thorns, and small, bitter, seedy fruit.
Uses and Flavor
The fruit itself is extremely bitter, dry, and stringy, basically inedible raw for most people, so this one’s grown more for its history than for eating. It’s referenced throughout Japan’s oldest literature, including the Kojiki and the Man’yoshu, and was worn by Heian era women as fragrant sachets and strung bracelets.
Growing It Here
A wild citrus endemic to Japan, mentioned in poetry going back to the early Ryukyu kingdoms and the motif behind many Tachibana family crests. Ours is still under 8 feet tall and hasn’t started producing, and it has some of the craziest, longest thorns of anything in the citrus collection, worth watching your hands around.
Pests and Diseases to Watch For
Nothing to report so far.
Kenta’s Take
Growing an endangered, barely edible citrus purely because of its place in a thousand years of Japanese poetry is exactly the kind of odd, specific reason I like adding something to this collection, right alongside far more useful citrus like Tahitian lime and tangelo.