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Citrus micrantha
Also called Kaffir Lime, Makrut Lime, Mauritius Papeda, Celebes Papeda, Porcupine Orange, Thai Bai Makrut, Thai Lime
Citrus micrantha is a wild papeda from the southern Philippines, now generally treated as a variety of Citrus hystrix, which is closely related to the Kaffir lime. It is grown mainly for its aromatic leaves and fruit, and it is a parent of some lime varieties.
The micrantha is a wild citrus from the papeda group, native to southern Philippines, particularly islands of Cebu and Bohol. Two varieties are recognized: small-flowered papeda (C. hystrix var. micrantha), locally known as biasong, and small-fruited papeda (C. hystrix var. microcarpa) or samuyao.
Although long viewed as a separate species, C. micrantha, it is now generally viewed to fall within Citrus hystrix, but genomic data on the latter is insufficient for a definitive conclusion. A micrantha was one of the progenitor species of some varieties of lime.
The micrantha contains a significant amount of bergapten, a linear furanocoumarin well known for its phototoxic effects. Of 61 Citrus varieties tested, C. micrantha had the highest concentration of bergapten of any Citrus species. In particular, C. micrantha contained almost twice as much bergapten as the bergamot orange whose essential oil is highly phototoxic. Indiscriminate use of bergamot essential oil has led to several cases of phytophotodermatitis, a potentially severe skin inflammation. In these cases, the primary causal agent is believed to be bergapten.
Calamansi · Citrofortunella · Nasnaran Mandarin · Ada Jamir · Key lime · Bitter orange · Bergamot orange · Ichang Lemon or Ichang papeda · Celebes papeda · Clementine · Heen naran · Daidai
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Micrantha (citrus) by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
