Kumquat 'Meiwa'

Named after the Meiwa Era, a historical period in Japan that spanned from 1764 to 1771 when these sweet-tart fruits were initially introduced to Japan from China. It was rumored that the Meiwa kumquats found their way to Japan through a shipwreck, where, according to renowned Japanese botanist and mycologist Chozaburo Tanaka, the Meiwa kumquats were aboard a Chinese merchant vessel where after the shipwreck, one of the ship's crew members washed ashore near Shimizu port in the city of Shizuoka, Japan, carrying preserved kumquats in his pocket. These kumquats contained seeds that were later planted in a private garden, resulting in the growth of a compact, evergreen tree that bore larger, rounder, and sweeter kumquats. These fruits were subsequently named Meiwa, and it was rumored that the original tree continued to thrive into the early 20th century.