DESCRIPTION
Hong Kong Wild Kumquat is the Mame or Hime kinkan of Japan.
According to Swingle, this species grows wild in Hongkong and in the Chekiang and Kwangtung provinces of China.
ORIGIN
The Hong Kong kumquat is apparently of ancient origin, for it is rather widely distributed in the wild and is undoubtedly the chin chu (golden bean) or shan chin kan (mountain golden mandarin) described by Han Yen-chih in 1178 A.D. and referred to by an earlier writer whom he quotes.
In modern times, however, the name golden bean kumquat has been restricted to a cultivated diploid form, the chin tou of China or Kinzu kinkan of Japan, which Swingle considers to have originated from the wild species.
PLANT
-Tree features: Plant is very compact-spherical in shape, and sometimes a little bit thorny too.
-Leaves: Leaves are small in size, long in shape and extremely dark-green in colour.
FRUIT
-Shape: Fruit is the smallest kumquat of our collection. It’s round in shape, small like a blueberry in size.
-Flavour: Fruit seems to be kinda acid-bitter. However skin is aromatic.
-Colour: Orange to deep orange outside, light orange inside.
SEASON OF RIPENESS
Season of ripeness: Hong Kong Wild Kumquat seems to be a 4 season variety, with more than one fruiting per year.
It usually starts to bloom during Spring time, however flowers can be discovered during Summer and Autumn also.
HOW TO USE IT
-In the Kitchen: We’ve never tried it in the kitchen, but we think it’s possible to use it to aromatize recipes.
-Ornamental: It’s one of the most important ornamental kumquats, for its colour, its fruiting and its cold tollerance.
COLD RESISTENCE
According to our tests, in the Greenhouse, or in a covered area, it can resist to a temperature of -10°C.
This variety needs to be maintained like a normal Lemon.
If you’d like to find out about how to maintain citrus, you can follow us on YouTube
