Daidai

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title: "Daidai" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["citrus", "fruits-originating-in-asia", "japanese-fruit"] description: "Variety of fruit" topic_path: "geography/japan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daidai" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Variety of fruit ::

The daidai (; ; ; Citrus × daidai) is a variety of bitter orange native to Asian regions.

The daidai originated in the Himalayas. It spread to the Yangtze valley region and later to Japan. The colour of the fruit loses its yellowish hue and becomes greener in the spring. The native Japanese word for the colour orange 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 (the Japanese adaptation of Chinese medicine). The dry peels of young fruits are called kijitsu (枳実) and are used as a stomachic, expectorant as well as a laxative. The peel of ripe daidai is called and is used as a fragrant stomachic and expectorant.

Cultural aspect

The name daidai, originally meaning "several generations" (), came from the fruit staying on the tree for several years if not picked; thus, a tree bears fruits of more than one season or from multiple years. Another background of its name refers to the shape of kaiseito's calyx, which appears to be stepped or as if the fruit is borne on two pedestals or . That is why people also called it ).

Daidai is used as a decoration in Japanese New Year celebrations, such as Shimekazari, 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.

References

References

1. 佐藤治雄. (15 February 2005). "ダイダイ Citrus aurantium".
2. Dolf De Rovira. (28 February 2008). "Dictionary of Flavors". John Wiley & Sons.
3. Yoshio Hada. "ダイダイ Citrus aurantium（ミカン科ミカン属）". [[Okayama University of Science]].
4. Botanica. (January 2005). "第二十八話 ダイダイ".
5. "Citrus daidai Siebold ex Hayata is an unresolved name".

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