Memang Narang (Indian wild orange) is a fruit which grows in Garo Hills of the Indian state of Meghalaya and it is the only region in the world where this fruit is found to occur. Memang Narang is believed to be the most "primitive" citrus and the ancestor of the cultivated citrus fruits of today.
Memang Narang is derieved from two words Memang meaning Ghost and Narang meaning Citrus Fruit. It is a rare species which is confined to Tura ranges of Garo Hills. Nokrek Biosphere is the natural home of this species.
This plant is considered to be an endangered species. Threats to the species have included habitat destruction caused by slash-and-burn (Jhum) activity. Very low genetic diversity and destruction of its natural habitat pose serious threat to this fruit even in the Citrus Gene Sanctuary in Nokrek Biosphere Reserve (NBR) in Meghalaya
Biological classification of Memang Narang is as given below.
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Tracheophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Sapindales
Family : Rutaceace
Sub Family : Aurantiodeae
Genus : Citrus
Species : Indica
Memang Narang (Citrus indica) plants are very small tree or shrub. Spreading branches arise almost at right angles, run on zigzag fashion and thorny. Morphologically the leaves are distinct from other common citrus leaves. The fruits are spherical to depressed globose. Fruits are deep orange red to almost scarlet when full ripe. The fruiting season of it is November to December and there is one crop in a year.
The surface of the fruits is smooth and deep orange red to almost scarlet in colour when full ripe. The fruits are not juicy and the flavour is not agreeable. The fruits of Memang Narang (Citrus indica) are not edible, mostly used as medicine to cure number of deadly diseases (viral Infection, kidney stone and many stomach diseases). It can be used as a rootstock for cultivated citrus.
The fruit is used to treat jaundice and stomach diseases of humans and domestic animals. Powdered extract from the fruits are taken as a cure for smallpox. Fruits are placed on dead bodies during the last rites with the belief that it will ward off ghosts of the departed
Citrus can be propagated either by seeds or by vegetative methods. Trees raised through seeds are more resistant and longer living than those raised through vegetative propagation method. In vegetative propagation methods, cutting, layering and budding are practiced
It is usually eaten along with its skin and traditionally preserved after harvest by drying on a fireplace or on a bamboo stick over fire as it is available only once a year. The fruit is crushed along with its skin in a bamboo tube and the sour juice is mixed with food and given as medicine.
GI Tag Registration Date : 13 April 2015
GI Tag Number : 437
Certificate Number : 236
Geographical Area : Meghalaya
Special Cover Release Date : 13 October 2021
Cancellation : Shillong 793 001
Type : GI Tag Cover
Cover Identification Number : NE/02/2021-22
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