Buddha’s Hand: The Fingered Citron, How It Smells and How the Fruit Is Used

Also known as	Buddha’s hand, fingered citron, goblin fingers (US Halloween name), Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis
What it is	A citron variety in the citrus family. The fruit is used, sliced and dried or zested
Scent	Fresh citrus, faintly sweet, lightly bitter
Key compounds	Limonene is about 76% and gamma-terpinene about 15 to 17% of the volatiles in fresh rind
Grown in	Generally traced to South or East Asia, probably northeastern India or China. Ours comes from China
Common forms	Fresh fruit, dried slices, candied fruit, zest, scent use
Protection	A cultivated crop, not listed under CITES

What is Buddha’s hand?

It is a thorny shrub or small tree with large, oblong, pale green leaves and fragrant clusters of white flowers tinted purple on the outside. The “fingers” are mostly white pith. Some hold a little acidic pulp, many are juiceless, and some are seedless. The fruit comes in “open-hand” and “closed-hand” forms, depending on whether the fingers spread or curl in.

It dislikes frost, intense heat and drought, and grows best in a mild climate. It is propagated from cuttings of 2 to 4 year old branches, or grafted onto rootstock, and is prone to citrus greening disease.

What does Buddha’s hand smell like?

Fresh citrus, faintly sweet, with a light bitterness. It is not the mellow, aged warmth of chenpi.

In 2022 Italian researchers measured the volatiles of one Buddha’s hand fruit with headspace sampling and gas chromatography. In fresh rind, limonene made up about 76% (75.8% in the outer rind, 76.2% in the inner), and gamma-terpinene about 15 to 17%. In the distilled essential oil, limonene was 66.9% and gamma-terpinene 20.0%. The water left from distilling, the hydrolate, was mostly alpha-terpineol (44.7%) and terpinen-4-ol (21.6%), with only 3.2% limonene. Limonene is the most common scent molecule in citrus peel.

How do you use Buddha’s hand?

Way	How	Good for
As scent	A whole fruit on a desk or in a wardrobe. China and Japan have long used it to scent rooms and clothes	The home
In cooking	Zest grated as flavoring in desserts and savory dishes, or steeped in vodka or rice liquor	The kitchen
As candied fruit	Sliced and cooked in sugar	Sweets
As an offering or gift	An offering in Buddhist temples and a New Year gift in China	Festivals
In blends	Sliced, dried and ground, a little in incense beads or sachets adds a fresh citrus note to woods and flowers	Carried with you

There is almost no flesh, so do not peel and eat it like an ordinary citrus.

How is Buddha’s hand different from other materials?

Often confused: Buddha’s hand vs chenpi

	Buddha’s hand	Chenpi
What it is	A citron variety whose whole fruit splits into fingers	The peel of mandarin, dried and aged for years
Botanical name	Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis	Citrus reticulata and others
Scent	Fresh citrus, faintly sweet and bitter	Mellow, warm citrus that deepens with age
How we use it	Dried slices	Dried peel

For more on chenpi, see our Aged Tangerine Peel page.

Where does Buddha’s hand come from?

It is generally traced to South or East Asia, probably northeastern India or China. It is grown mainly for ornament and scent, and is common in gardens and pots. In the US, unripe fruits have been sold as Halloween decorations under the name “goblin fingers.”

What are the benefits of Buddha’s hand?

Traditionally the dried slices have been used as medicine. Modern research is so far mostly in the lab. Below, each claim says who made it.

Claim	Evidence	What was found
A tonic (unripe fruit, dried slices)	Traditional use	Wikipedia says the sliced, dried peel of immature fruit is prescribed as a tonic, without naming a medical system
Traditional Chinese medicine profile	Traditional use	A reference site lists the smell as aromatic and the taste as slightly sweet, then bitter, with antiasthmatic, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory actions (an educational site, not the pharmacopoeia itself)
Antioxidant	Lab	2022 Italian study: methanol extracts of the outer and inner rind and the essential oil scavenged free radicals (about 52 to 56% by the ABTS method). The hydrolate did almost nothing
Antibacterial	Lab	Same study: the oil’s minimum inhibitory concentration against Bacillus cereus was 0.5% by volume. Against E. coli, only the extracts worked
Kills leukemia cells	Lab (cells)	Same study: against HL60 cells, the oil’s EC50 was 1.24% by volume. The authors call these first-screening results, not a treatment

These are test-tube results. There are no human trials.

Buddha’s hand in history and culture

A lucky fruit

In China it stands for happiness, long life and good fortune. Legend says the Buddha prefers the fingers closed, because a closed hand means prayer, so temples mostly set out the closed-hand form.

A room full of scent

China and Japan have long used Buddha’s hand to scent rooms and clothing.

Is Buddha’s hand safe?

It has long been used for scent and flavoring. We found no authoritative safety data for the rind. A few things to keep in mind:

• Use it for scent and flavor. It has almost no flesh, so do not eat it in quantity as fruit.
• The extract contains a coumarin. The 2022 study found 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin in the outer rind extract (50.6% of the extract). The study did not discuss coumarins and skin sensitivity to sunlight, and we found no conclusion on that for this rind.
• Ask a doctor before using it as medicine, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication.

Buddha’s hand at ZendoDream

We use dried slices of Buddha’s hand. They are milder than the cool scent of citrus peel, with a touch of bitterness. In China, many people know the fresh fruit better. They set it in the living room or bedroom as a natural room scent, and one fruit stays fragrant for about a month. Dried Buddha’s hand can be steeped as tea, and incense makers also roll it into incense balls to scent rooms in autumn and winter.

Buddha’s hand and chenpi are the two peels in the sachet of Singular Rose · Carried: the sweetness of rose, a light tartness from roselle, and the cool of mint. It sits in silk gauze, carried with you. It is not heated or burned.

Pieces made with Buddha’s hand

FAQ

What is Buddha’s hand?

A variety of citron, Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis. The fruit splits into finger shapes and has almost no flesh.

What does Buddha’s hand smell like?

Fresh citrus, faintly sweet, with a light bitterness. Limonene is about 76% of the volatiles in fresh rind.

Can you eat Buddha’s hand?

You can grate the rind as flavoring, make it into candied fruit, or steep it in vodka or rice liquor. It has almost no flesh, so it is not eaten like fruit.

Why is it called Buddha’s hand?

Because the fruit splits into fingers like a hand. Legend says the Buddha prefers the closed-hand form, since a closed hand means prayer.

Are Buddha’s hand and chenpi the same?

No. Buddha’s hand is a citron variety whose whole fruit splits into fingers. Chenpi is mandarin peel, dried and aged for years.

What are the benefits of Buddha’s hand?

Traditionally the dried slices are used as medicine. Modern research is only in the lab, with no human trials.

Why is Buddha’s hand called goblin fingers?

In the US, unripe fruits have been sold as Halloween decorations under that name. The long, thin fingers give it the look.

Sources

1. Buddha’s hand, Wikipedia
2. Vitalini et al., 2022, Molecules, volatiles and biological effects of Buddha’s hand fruit
3. Foshou (Buddha’s Hand), Chinese herb reference

This page is for general education. Health claims from traditional use and studies are not medical advice.