Lemon

Lemon external surface and cross-section

The origin of the lemon is unknown, though lemons are thought to have first grown in Assam (a region in northeast India), northern Myanmar or China.[2] A genomic study of the lemon indicated it was a hybrid between bitter orange (sour orange) and citron.[3][4]

Lemons are supposed to have entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the second century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome[2] although this has been contested. Evidence for this is inconclusive and modern theories ascribe the introduction of the lemon throughout the Mediterranean area to around 100 AD. Around 400 AD they were planted in orchards in Moorish Spain[5] They were later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around 700 AD.[2] The lemon was first recorded in literature in a 10th-century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens.[2] It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 and 1150.[2] An article on Lemon and lime tree cultivation in Andalusia of Spain is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture.[6]

The first substantial cultivation of lemons in Europe began in Genoa in the middle of the 15th century. The lemon was later introduced to the Americas in 1493 when Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola on his voyages. Spanish conquest throughout the New World helped spread lemon seeds. It was mainly used as an ornamental plant and for medicine.[2] In the 19th century, lemons were increasingly planted in Florida and California.[2]

In 1747, James Lind's experiments on seamen suffering from scurvy involved adding lemon juice to their diets, though vitamin C was not yet known as an important dietary ingredient.[2][7]

The origin of the word lemon may be Middle Eastern.[2] The word draws from the Old French limon, then Italian limone, from the Arabic laymūn or līmūn, and from the Persian līmūn, a generic term for citrus fruit, which is a cognate of Sanskrit (nimbū, 'lime').[8]

Detailed taxonomic illustration by Franz Eugen Köhler.

The 'Bonnie Brae' is oblong, smooth, thin-skinned and seedless.[9] These are mostly grown in San Diego County, USA.[10]

The 'Eureka' grows year-round and abundantly. This is the common supermarket lemon, also known as 'Four Seasons' (Quatre Saisons) because of its ability to produce fruit and flowers together throughout the year. This variety is also available as a plant to domestic customers.[11] There is also a pink-fleshed Eureka lemon, with a green and yellow variegated outer skin.[12]

The Lisbon lemon is very similar to the Eureka and is the other common supermarket lemon. It is smoother than the Eureka, has thinner skin, and has fewer or no seeds. It generally produces more juice than the Eureka.[13][14]

The 'Femminello St. Teresa', or 'Sorrento'[15] originates in Italy. This fruit's zest is high in lemon oils. It is the variety traditionally used in the making of limoncello.

The 'Yen Ben' is an Australasian cultivar.[16]

Lemon is a rich source of vitamin C, providing 64% of the Daily Value in a 100 g reference amount (table). Other essential nutrients are low in content.

Lemons contain numerous phytochemicals, including polyphenols, terpenes, and tannins.[17] Lemon juice contains slightly more citric acid than lime juice (about 47 g/L), nearly twice the citric acid of grapefruit juice, and about five times the amount of citric acid found in orange juice.[18]

Lemon juice, rind, and peel are used in a wide variety of foods and drinks. The whole lemon is used to make marmalade, lemon curd and lemon liqueur. Lemon slices and lemon rind are used as a garnish for food and drinks. Lemon zest, the grated outer rind of the fruit, is used to add flavor to baked goods, puddings, rice, and other dishes.

Lemons need a minimum temperature of around 7 °C (45 °F), so they are not hardy year-round in temperate climates, but become hardier as they mature.[30] Citrus require minimal pruning by trimming overcrowded branches, with the tallest branch cut back to encourage bushy growth.[30] Throughout summer, pinching back tips of the most vigorous growth assures more abundant canopy development. As mature plants may produce unwanted, fast-growing shoots (called "water shoots"), these are removed from the main branches at the bottom or middle of the plant.[30]

The tradition of urinating near a lemon tree[31][32][33] may be beneficial as urine is a fertilizer.

In cultivation in the UK, the cultivars "Meyer"[34] and "Variegata"[35] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).[36]

Lemon (and lime) production, 2020 (in millions of tonnes)
Country	2020
India	3.7
Mexico	2.9
China	2.7
Argentina	1.8
Brazil	1.6
Turkey	1.2
World	21.4

In 2020, world production of lemons (combined with limes for reporting) was 21.4 million tonnes.[37] The top producers – India, Mexico, China, Argentina, Brazil, and Turkey – collectively accounted for 65% of global production (table).[37]

• Flat lemon, a mandarin hybrid.
• Meyer lemon, a cross between a citron and a mandarin/pomelo hybrid distinct from sour or sweet orange,[38] named after Frank N. Meyer, who first introduced it to the United States in 1908. Thin-skinned and slightly less acidic than the Lisbon and Eureka lemons, Meyer lemons require more care when shipping and are not widely grown on a commercial basis. Meyer lemons often mature to a yellow-orange color. They are slightly more frost-tolerant.
• Ponderosa lemon, more cold-sensitive than true lemons, the fruit are thick-skinned and very large. Genetic analysis showed it to be a complex hybrid of citron and pomelo.[38]
• Rough lemon, a citron-mandarin cross, cold-hardy and often used as a citrus rootstock[38]
• Sweet lemons or sweet limes, a mixed group including the lumia (pear lemon), limetta, and Palestinian sweet lime. Among them is the Jaffa lemon, a pomelo-citron hybrid.[38]
• Volkamer lemon, like the rough lemon, a citron-mandarin cross[38]

Jacob Foppen van Es: Still life with pitcher

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  Flower
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  Lemon seedling
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  Mature lemons
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  Full-sized tree
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  Variegated pink lemon
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  Lemon with leaves

• List of lemon dishes and drinks
•  Food portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Citrus × limon.

• Data related to Citrus × limon at Wikispecies
• "Lemon" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 413–415. (with illustrations)

Look up lemon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.