Unknown parentage
Ichang Papeda
Other names: Ichangensis
Estimated Genetic Ancestry
- 100% Papeda
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World of CitrusWorld of CitrusUnknown parentage
Other names: Ichangensis
The main Ichang Papeda entry uses UCR Citrus Variety Collection accession CRC 2431 (PI 539252) as its near-pulpless reference. UCR lists it as Citrus ichangensis, with its parents unknown.[1]
UCR’s 2007 note describes CRC 2431 fruit as thick-rinded, with a strongly acrid taste, an unpleasant aftertaste, and almost no juicy pulp.[1]
UCR identifies the separate CRC 2327 accession as true Citrus ichangensis, received as a live plant from CPB in 1930 and shoot-tip grafted in 1986. A separate grower report describes fruit with no flesh to taste on a plant propagated from a Ventnor Botanic Garden tree; neither report establishes that material as CRC 2431.[12][13]
A separate grower report concerns an unaccessioned Ichang papeda tree at Hoyt Arboretum in Portland. SoCal2warm described its small segments as edible but not very juicy, with resinous lemon/citron-like flavor and a delayed skunky aftertaste; the fruit might have been underripe and graft status was uncertain. The UBC post and Permies post 1212465 describe the same tree/report, so this is one grower observation, not independent specimens. It is not assigned to CRC 3931, CRC 2431, or SRA241.[14][15]
Swingle’s 1913 account of Chinese Ichangensis specimens describes variation between the nearly seed-filled, scarcely juicy wild Henry 3423 fruit and the larger, juicier cultivated Wilson 4736/4737 fruit; he offers nutrition and Chinese selection as explanations. He also describes a spontaneous dwarf Wilson 3307 plant at 2–3 ft, not a typical modern height profile. For hardiness context, Swingle cites 1888 Ichang city weather with a February minimum of 22°F (−5.6°C) and reports Wilson’s confidence in the species’ hardiness. These are historical climate context and attributed opinion, not documented tree exposure or survival. The cited specimens are not linked to modern CRC, SRA241, or IVIA accessions.[16]
Recent grower videos also show variation among unidentified Ichang papeda plants. The Mulberries reviewed ground-picked fruit with very little flesh and effectively no juice, while another featured strain’s rounder, juicier fruit was described secondhand and had not been tasted. A separate tasting describes a papeda sample captioned “I 358”/“Evia,” but its accession is unresolved. These reports are not assigned to the named selections.[19][17][18][21]
In Central North Carolina, The Mulberries reports Ichang papeda plants remaining evergreen, with some leaf loss, through a winter reaching 10°F (−12.2°C). Exposure duration, rootstock, and protection are not specified. His lower-temperature estimates and another unquantified near-zero survival report are not verified limits for a named accession.[18][19]