Citrus nobilis Lour

General description

Omoro name	Kunefu
Japanese name	Kunenbo
Family name	Rutaceae
Okinawan name	Kunibu, Tohkunibu

Location within the park

Characteristics

Citrus nobilis Lour is a tall evergreen tree that grows to be about 20 feet tall. Its fruit ripens between December and January and becomes about 2.8 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide. It is a close relative to Citrus unshiu. Its place of origin is Thailand and Indochina, and is cultivated mainly in southern China and southern Japan. It is believed that it came to Okinawa from Southern China, and later on, spread to southern Japan via Kagoshima prefecture. Although it looks similar to Citrus depressa (Shiikwahsah), it can be distinguished from the fact that its leaf stem has petiole wing leaves and its fruit is larger. It is also called Toukunibu in Okinawan dialect which means “mandarin orange from China”, “Tou” meaning “the Tang” and “Kunibu” meaning “mandarin orange”

Utilization

【fruit】 : for eating raw, cough medicine

Best Time To See Calendar

Omorosaushi (994 of Volume 14) Kunefu

Meaning of the song
Mandarin orange of Shimajiri
Waiting anxiously for the mandarin orange of our parent
country to grow
When the end of dry season comes
When early summer comes
We anxiously wait