588 



AURANTIACE^E. XIV. CITEUS. 



stamens, often without a style ; fruit oblong, wrinkled, with a 

 thick rind, and acid pulp. Jj . G. Native of Asia, but has been 

 cultivated from time immemorial in middle and south Europe, 

 and now cultivated almost throughout the world. Ferr. hesper. 

 t. 59, 60-63. C. Medica Cedra, Gall. citr. p. 87. var. 1, 2-5-7. 



Rumph. amb. 2. t. 25 and 26. f. 2. Blackw. herb. t. 361. 



Young branches violet-coloured. Rind wrinkled, adhering to 

 the pulp, possessing a sweet odour. Petals purplish on the 

 outside. Pedicels axillary, solitary, 1 -flowered. The specific 

 name Medica is said to be derived from Media, where it is 

 said to have originally come from. This was the opinion of 

 the Romans. The tree was cultivated in Italy before Virgil 

 and Pliny. The wood was formerly used in making furniture 

 by the Romans, as the Acasia is at this day. The fruit is 

 often half a foot in length, ovate, with a protuberance at the 

 tip ; usually 9-celled ; the pulp is white, and commonly acid ; the 

 rind yellow, thick, hardish, odoriferous, irregular ; it is esculent, 

 both raw and preserved. Properly there are two rinds ; the 

 outer thin, with innumerable miliary glands, full of the most 

 fragrant oil ; the inner thick, white, and fungous ; the partitions 

 consist of two very thin diaphanous, membranaceous plates, 

 connected at the axis, and inserted into the rind at the pere- 

 phery ; the cells are filled with a bladdery pulp. In each cell 

 are a few seeds, commonly 1 or 2, sometimes 3 or 4. 

 Risso gives the following description of this species : 

 Branches spiny. Pedicels bear about 10-flowers, disposed in 

 a corymb, the greater part of them sterile. The calyx is 5- 

 toothed, covered on the outside with protuberances, and streak- 

 ed with a few reddish nerves. The flowers are large, purple 

 without and white within, usually of 5 petals, which are oval- 

 oblong, with 40 or 50 stamens, with flat unequal filaments, and 

 yellow anthers. Pistil permanent, caducous, or wanting. The 

 fruit is large and oblong, covered with protuberances, which are 

 red when young, but of fine yellow colour when ripe ; the rind 

 is spongy and thick, with a sweet odour, adhering closely to the 

 pulp, which is sparing and acid. Seeds oblong, with a reddish 

 pellicle. It is called Cedrat (Fr.), Cedrot (Ital.), Sedrou (Nice), 

 Citron (Eng.), Cedreiro (Brazil). 



The fruit of the Citron is seldom eaten raw, but is generally 

 preserved and made into confections, which being kept till 

 winter and spring, when there is a scarcity to furnish out the 

 desert, is the more valuable ; but unless the season be warm, 

 and the trees well managed, the fruit rarely ripens in England. 

 The finest fruit that ever was produced in England, was in the 

 garden of his Grace the late Duke of Argyle, at Whitten, where 

 the trees were trained against a south wall, through which there 

 were flues for warming the air in winter, and glass covers to put 

 over them when the weather began to be cold. Thus the fruit 

 was as large as it is in Italy or Spain. 



The Citron is a native of the warm regions of Asia. Being 

 introduced into Europe from Media, it had the name of Malus 

 Medica. It seems to have come into Italy after the age of 

 Virgil and Pliny, but before that of Palladius (Lin.), who ap- 

 pears first to have cultivated it with any success there (Virg. 

 136. qu. ed.) According to Haller, the Median apple described 

 by Theophrastus is certainly a sort of orange (Bibl. bot. 32.), 

 which fruit, according to Athenaeus, first travelled into Greece 

 from Persia (Evelyn), and in time became known to the Greeks, 

 and about the same time it began also to be cultivated in Judea. 

 If the Median apple be the orange, the tristes sued of Virgil, 

 and the acres medulla: of Palladius, it must have been much cor- 

 rected by culture ; the latter author, Theophrastus, and Pliny, 

 all speak of it as not eatable, though they celebrate its medicinal 

 qualities far above its desert. 



It has been conjectured by many commentators, from the cir- 

 cumstance of Jews at the present day carrying Citrons to the 



Feast of the Tabernacles, that it was the fruit (" Hadar") spoken 

 of in the 23d chap. 4th ver. of the Book of Leviticus. In old 

 Samaritan coins Citrons may be observed attached to the palm 

 on one side. Josephus mentions a custom of great antiquity. 

 Thus on one occasion, when Alexander the king and the high 

 priest stood at the altar, the people revolted, and threw at him 

 the Citrons they bore in their hands. It is, however, probable, 

 that no particular fruit was alluded to, and it was not until the 

 days of Solomon that Citrons became known. 



There are 3 varieties of the Citron enumerated by Risso in 

 ann. du. mus. 20. p. 199 and 200. which are as follows : 



1 Large Citron (Engl.), Gros Sedrou (Nice), Cedrat a gros 

 fruit (Fr.), Cedrone (Ital.). Citrus Medica fructumaximo (Risso). 

 Fruit large, wrinkled, copper-coloured, with a very thick rind and 

 acid pulp. Vole. p. 1 19. Gal. p. 98. no. 2. The principal differ- 

 ence which separates this variety from the species is the great size 

 of its fruit. The leaves are oval-oblong and thick, of a glaucous 

 green-colour. The flowers are large, white, and numerous ; the 

 stamens are much longer than the pistil. The fruit is large, with 

 a thick rind, adhering closely to the pulp, which is a little acid. 



2 Monstrous Citron (Engl.), Cedro monstruoso (Ital.), Sedrou 

 (Nice), Cedrat monstrueux (Fr.), Citrus Medica tuberosa (Risso). 

 Fruit monstrous, mucronated, yellow, with acid pulp. Ferr. 

 hesp. 3S7. Vole. p. 162. Gal. p. 100. no. 5. From the tuber- 

 cles and teats, which ordinarily cover the fruit, the name is 

 derived. The leaves are large, usually curled, and of a dark- 

 green colour, placed on short petioles. The flowers are dis- 

 posed in a corymb. The fruit is roundish oval, of a dark-yellow 

 colour, usually terminating in a short point at the apex ; the 

 rind is thick, and is covered with large tubercles, which even 

 penetrate to the middle of the pulp, which is acid, and does not 

 contain any seeds. 



3 Florence Citron (Engl.), Cedratello di Firenze (Ital.), Ce- 

 drat de Florence (Fr), Citrus Medica Florenttna (Risso). Fruit 

 small, ovate, acuminated, very sweet-scented, with a thick yel- 

 low rind and acid pulp. Vole. p. 133. Desf. p. 138. Gal. p. 

 103.no. 7. This variety is a very pretty tree. The branches 

 are spiny and green. The leaves are oval-oblong, toothed, and 

 pointed, of a glaucous-green colour. The flowers are disposed 

 in a tuft at the summits of the branches. The calyx is 5-toothed. 

 The corolla is composed of 5 or 8 petals, which are tinted with 

 violet on the outside. Stamens from 30 to 36, with twisted 

 filaments, which are as long as the pistil. The fruit is ovate, 

 gradually tapering to the apex into a point ; the rind is thick, 

 of a clear yellow colour, with a sweet scent, and covered with a 

 few tubercles ; the pulp is divided into 8-cells, and is truly acid. 



The Portuguese had many of the most curious sorts of Lemons 

 and Citrons, brought from the Indies formerly, which seemed 

 to thrive almost as well there as in their native soil, and yet 

 they have not been increased. There are a few trees still re- 

 maining in some neglected gardens near Lisbon, almost un- 

 noticed by the inhabitants (Martyn). The Lemon was first cul- 

 tivated in Britain in the botanic garden at Oxford in 1648. 

 (Hort. kew). 



The useful parts of the Lemon and Citron are the juice 

 and the outward rind of the fruit, and the volatile oil of the 

 outer rind. The juice of Lemons is analogous to that of the 

 Orange, from which it only differs in containing more citric acid, 

 and less syrup. The quantity of the former is indeed so great 

 that the acid has been named from the fruit, acid of Lemons, and 

 is always prepared from it. The simple expressed juice will not 

 keep on account of the syrup, extractive mucilage, and water, 

 which cause it to ferment. The yellow peel is an elegant aro- 

 matic, and is frequently employed in stomachic tinctures and in- 

 fusions ; and yields by expression or distillation with water an 

 essential oil, which is much used in perfumery. Fresh Lemon- 



