Yuzu: History | World of Citrus

February 25th1918Yangtze River region, Hubei, China
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The yuzu accession now maintained as CRC 1216 / PI 45945 / VI 619 derives from seed collected by USDA plant explorer Frank N. Meyer in Hubei Province, China. UCR records the source date as February 25, 1918. The source plant was found on a slope at approximately 4,000 feet elevation.
- Frank N. MeyerCollector
  Collected the Chinese seed material from which the CRC 1216 yuzu accession derives.
Sources: ⁠[1]
Date unknownUpper Yangtze region, China
Other
Yuzu is an ancient natural citrus hybrid originating in China, with the upper Yangtze region historically regarded as a center of origin. Modern genomic analysis identifies yuzu as an F1 hybrid with Ichang papeda as the seed parent and mangshanyeju wild mandarin as the other parent. Older accounts that identify Satsuma as the mandarin parent should therefore not be treated as established parentage.
Sources: ⁠[13]⁠[15]
Date unknownJapan
Introduced
Yuzu is reported to have reached Japan from China through the Korean Peninsula before the Nara period. The exact introduction year is unknown; JETRO describes cultivation flourishing about 1,300 years ago.
Sources: ⁠[15]

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