RUE FAMILY (RUTACEAE) 



98. Limon de cabro, lemon 



Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f. 



Lemon is separated from the other kinds of 

 citrus fruits by: (1) the very sour yellow elliptic 

 fruit 21/4-4 inches lonjr and li/^-3i/o inches in di- 

 ameter, blunt-pointed or tuhercled at both ends, 

 and the surface often rough and wrinkled; (2) 

 flowers 11/4-2 inches broad with -i or 5 whitish 

 petals purplish tino;ed on outside; and (3) leaves 

 with apex pointed and with almost wingless 

 petiole. 



A small aromatic evergreen tree attaining 10-20 

 feet in lieight and 4 inches in trunk diameter or 

 larger, the trunk slightly angled, with long irregu- 

 lar spreading branches. The bark is brown or 

 gray and smooth to finely fissured, the light brown 

 inner bark slightly bitter. The green twigs usu- 

 ally have a short stout spine at base of leaf. 



The alternate leaves have petioles 1/4--V2 i'lch 

 long, jointed with blade. Blades are oblong to 

 elliptic, 21/2^14 inches long and 11/4-21/4 inches 

 wide, short- to long-pointed at apex and rounded 

 at base, with many minute rounded teeth at edges, 

 tliick and leathery, and with numerous gland dots. 

 The upper surface is green or dark green and 

 slightly shiny, and the lower surface chill light 

 green. Young leaves are reddish. 



Flowers are single, paired, or few at base of a 

 leaf, slightly fragrant, some bisexual and some 

 male, the buds reddish or purplish tinged. There 

 is a cuplike 4-5-toothed light green and purplish 

 calyx about I/4 inch high and broad ; 4 or 5 slightly 

 fleshy, gland-dotted petals % inch long, and 

 curved back on the outer side; 20-40 stamens % 

 inch long with fleshy white filaments slightly 

 united at base and with yellow anthers; and pistil 

 on basal disk with 7-li-celled ovary tapering to 

 the stout style. 



The fruit (beri-y or hesperidium) has a thick 

 peeling 1/4-% inch thick and veiy sour, pale yel- 

 lowish flesh. Tlie elliptic whitish seeds about 

 % inch long are pointed at 1 end. Flowering 



in spring and with fruit in summer and fall. 



The wood is light brown and hard. 



The juice is made into lemonade drinks, sweet- 

 ened with sugar and serves to season foods. The 

 fruit is more generally consumed in the United 

 States than in Latin America. In home medicines 

 the juice is antiseptic and arrests bleeding, a de- 

 coction pi'oduces sweating, and the root has been 

 employed also. The lime juice of the old sailing 

 vessels, a preventative of scurvy, came partly from 

 this species. I^emon oil, from the fruit peel, is offi- 

 cial in tlie United States Pharmacopoeia as a 

 flavoring agent. A honey plant. 



Formerly planted as a fruit tree and naturalized 

 in Puerto Rico, chiefly in the lower mountain and 

 moist limestone forest regions. Also in the Virgin 

 Islands. 



Public forests. — Carite, Luquillo, Maricao, 

 Rio Abajo, Toro Negi'o. 



Range. — Perhaps from southeastern Asia, the 

 origin uncertain and perhaps relatively recent, 

 possibly hybrid. Now widely cultivated and natu- 

 ralized in tropical and subtropical regions. Ber- 

 muda, West Indies, and from southern Florida 

 and southern California and Mexico to South 

 America. It is rejjorted that this s]5ecies was first 

 introduced into the New World at Hispaniola by 

 Columbus in 1493. 



Other common names. — limon (Spanish) ; 

 limon agrio (Dominican Republic, Mexico) ; limon 

 frances, cidra (Cuba) ; limonero (Mexico, Colom- 

 bia) ; limon real (Central America, Ecuador) ; 

 limon comiin (Nicaragua) ; limon criollo, limon 

 frances (Venezuela) ; lemon (United States, Eng- 

 lish) ; limon (Fi'ench) ; citronnier, limon france 

 (Haiti) ; lamoentsji, lamunchi dushi (Dutch West 

 Indies) . 



Botanical synonym. — f'/ffus limonvm Risso. 

 Formerly referred also to Citrus J/mon/a Osbeck, 

 Canton lemon, which is a dilferent Chinese hybrid. 



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