The world's only one"Taiwan's endemic wild citrus, Nanzhuang orange, returns to the Saisiyat people, with a unique flavor and industrial potential

"The Nanzhuang orange exists only in Taiwan, China, and in Taiwan, China it grows only in the traditional territory of the Saisiyat people." The Nanzhuang orange is endemic to Taiwan, China, and is also an important ethnomedicinal plant of the Saisiyat people, but it has gradually disappeared with the passage of time and has even been listed on the Red List by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a species in the Critically Endangered category.

Through the joint efforts of the Forestry Bureau, Chung Hsing University and Saisiyat tribal members, the Nanzhuang orange, absent from the tribe for 47 years, has finally returned to the mountains and forests. Saisiyat elder Gen Zhiyou accepted the seedlings presented by the Forestry Bureau on behalf of the tribe. Being able to use the Nanzhuang orange to worship ancestral spirits moved him deeply, and he also promised to lead the tribal members in planting with care, not only to let the Nanzhuang orange bloom and bear fruit in its native habitat, but also to develop diversified industries, so that the orange fragrance may spread through the tribe and bring prosperity to the Saisiyat!

The Nanzhuang orange "Gadayu" isan ethnobotanical plant of the Saisiyat people,a critically endangered species

The Nanzhuang orange is an ethnobotanical plant of the Saisiyat people, called "Gadayu" in the Saisiyat language. Gen Zhiyou recounted the story behind it: "It was discovered by Bada, an ancestor of the Kada tribe, by the stream. Because the leaves of the fruit face Xiaobajian Mountain, the mother of the Saisiyat people, it was named by combining 'Ga' (mother) with 'Da' (the name of the discoverer)." Then what about "Yu"? It turns out that the Saisiyat language has no word for "sour." When Gen Zhiyou demonstrated what it was like when the Nanzhuang orange entered the mouth, the Saisiyat people were so sour that they cried out "yoyoyo," and the name "Gadayu" speaks for itself.

"Gadayu" is a daily snack of the Saisiyat people, an ethnomedicine, dry rations in the wild or during battle, and also an offering in rituals. Gen Zhiyou said that they grind dried Nanzhuang oranges into powder, and whether for a cold or abdominal pain, they can swallow a little of the orange powder as treatment. However, because its native habitat was extensively developed and its taste is not widely favored, the Nanzhuang orange has gradually disappeared, and its rarity has even led to its inclusion on the Red List by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a species in the Critically Endangered category.