Scientific Name : Clausena lansium (Lour.) Skeels
Common Name : Wampi, Wampee
Chinese Name : 黃皮, 黃皮子, 黃皮果
Family : RUTACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species
| Origin | Southeast China, Yunnan and Fujian. Wampee widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in Southern China, and is an indispensable cash crop. |
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| Meanings of name | Because of its golden skin and crystal clear flesh, it is called 'yellow skin'. |
| Vitality | Wampee moderately acclimatises to multiple types of soil. A good planting, however, prefers well-drained and nutritious soils and should avert waterlogging and drought. |
| Application | The fruits are juicy, sour and wholesome. Apart from peeling off the skins and eating the fruits fresh, they are also commonly processed into juice, jams and dried Wampee. The tree is exploited for versatile medical functions. the important source of traditional Chinese medicine. The leaves, known as Huangpiye, are a competent traditional Chinese medicine that is tasted bitter, pungent and neutral, and can be used for relieving heat and phlegm. The fruits are the primary source of Huangpiguo which is effective to disperse food and relieve phlegm. The fruits also contain profuse coumarins that can hinder oxidation by scavenging DPPH radicals and superoxide anions. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen small tree. |
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| Height | To 12 m. |
| Stems | Bark smooth, with longitudinal crack, dark green or grey green. Branchlets hirsute, with fine glandular dots. |
| Leaves | Imparipinnately compound alternate, leaflets 5-11 alternative. Blade ovate to ovate-elliptic, base broadly cuneate or subrounded, asymmetrical, undulate or coarsely crenate, leaf rachis densely pubescent, adaxially often glabrous. Scattered glandular dots on both surfaces, curry smelling when crushed. |
| Flower | Large panicles terminal. Petals 5, white, pubescent. Stamens 10, which varying in length. |
| Fruit | Berry, ellipsoid or broadly ovoid, with scattered oil spots at first, light to dark yellow. |
| Flowering period | April to May in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | July to August in Hong Kong. |
Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website :
https://herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=2521
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Clausena lansium (Loureiro) Skeels
— Plants of the World Online : Clausena lansium (Lour.) Skeels