Daidai


The daidai, is an Asian variety of bitter orange.
The daidai originated in the Himalayas. It spread to the Yangtze valley region and later to Japan. The colour of the fruit loses yellowish hue and becomes greener in the spring.
The native Japanese word for the color orange, or daidai-iro, is derived from the name of this fruit.

Uses

There are two main cultivars, and, and the latter bears smaller fruits than the former in Japan.
The fruit is very bitter, and not usually eaten, but its dried peel is used in Kampo ; when you dry peels of young fruits, it is called kijitsu, applied as stomachic and expectorant as well as laxative. Peel of ripen daidai is called use as fragrant stomachic and expectorant.
The juice of the daidai can be used as an ingredient in making ponzu while kabosu is appreciated to be more fragrant.

Cultural aspect

The name daidai, originally meaning "several generations".
Daidai is used as a decoration in Japanese New Year celebrations as a symbol of the family to continue for generations, and people place a fruit on top of kagami mochi, a stack of two to three round and flat mochi. This use is believed to date from the Edo period.
It has not yet been resolved as a true species by The Plant List.