Taxon: Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.

Common names:

• lemon   (Source: World Econ Pl ) – English
  
• limum   (Source: Citrus CGC, p.c.) – Transliterated Arabic
  
• li meng   (Source: Mansf Ency ) – Transcribed Chinese
  
• ning meng   (Source: Mansf Ency ) – Transcribed Chinese
  
• citronnier   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – French
  
• limonier   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – French
  
• Zitrone   (Source: Zander ed17 ) – German
  
• limone   (Source: HerbSpices 2:212.) – Italian
  
• limão   (Source: Mansf Ency ) – Portuguese
  
• limoeiro-azedo   (Source: Mansf Ency ) – Portuguese
  
• limão-eureka   (Source: D. Groth, p.c. 2005) – Portuguese (Brazil)
  
• limão-gênova   (Source: D. Groth, p.c. 2005) – Portuguese (Brazil)
  
• limão-siciliano   (Source: D. Groth, p.c. 2005) – Portuguese (Brazil)
  
• limão-verdadeiro   (Source: D. Groth, p.c. 2005) – Portuguese (Brazil)
  
• limoeiro   (Source: D. Groth, p.c. 2005) – Portuguese (Brazil)
  
• limón   (Source: Mansf Ency ) – Spanish
  
• limonero   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Spanish
  

More:

see MMPND for additional names in foreign scripts

Economic importance:

• Food additives: emulsifier   (fide Ency CNatIn)
  
• Food additives: flavoring   (fide Ency CNatIn)
  
• Food additives: gelling agent   (fide Ency CNatIn)
  
• Human food: beverage base   (fide Wealth India RM 2:190. 1950)
  
• Human food: fruit   (fide Wealth India RM 2:190. 1950)
  
• Gene sources: graft stock for citrus   (fide Breed Pl Tree Crops 117. 2009)
  
• Materials: essential oils   (source of neroli citronier used in perfumery fide Ency CNatIn)
  
• Materials: gum/resin   (fide Ency CNatIn)
  
• Materials: lipids   (fide Ency CNatIn)
  
• Medicines: folklore   (fide CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2)
  

More:

View phytochemical or ethnobotanical data from Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases

Distributional range:

• widely cultivated in tropics & subtropics

• origin unknown, likely China

References:

• Bayer, R. J. et al. 2009. A molecular phylogeny of the orange subfamily (Rutaceae: Aurantioideae) using nine cpDNA sequences. Amer. J. Bot. 96:668–685.
• Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959–. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
• Citrus Crop Germplasm Committee. 1998. pers. comm. [re. common names].
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1950. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. Delhi. 2:190.
• Craker, L. E. & J. E. Simon, eds. 1986–1987. Herbs, spices, and medicinal plants, 2 vols.
• Cufodontis, G. 1953–1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta. [= Citrus limonia Osbeck].
• Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs.
• Elevitch, C. R., ed. The traditional tree initiative: species profiles for Pacific Island agroforestry (on-line resource).
• Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage.
• Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage.
• Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
• Garcia-Lor, A. et al. 2013. A nuclear phylogenetic analysis: SNPs, indels and SSRs deliver new insights into the relationships in the 'true citrus fruit trees' group (Citrinae, Rutaceae) and the origin of cultivated species. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 111:1–19.
• Gmitter Jr., F. G. et al. 2007. Chapter 14. Citrus fruits. In: Kole. C., ed., Genome mapping and molecular breeding in plants (7 vols.). 4:265–279. [mentions as a probable hybrid between Citrus medica and C. aurantifolia].
• Gmitter, F. G. et al. 2009. Citrus breeding. In: Jain, S. M. & P.M. Priyadarshan, eds., Breeding plantation tree crops: temperate species. 105–134.
• Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. [re. Brazilian common names].
• Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6.
• Hara, H. et al. 1978–1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
• Kunkel, G. 1984. Plants for human consumption.
• Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2. [343, 413.].
• Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third.
• Mabberley, D. J. 1997. A classification for edible Citrus (Rutaceae). Telopea 7:169. [lists as Citrus ×limon (L.) Osbeck].
• Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2.
• McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2.
• Nicolosi, E. et al. 2000. Citrus phylogeny and genetic origin of important species as investigated by molecular markers. Theor. Appl. Genet. 100:1155–1166.
• Ollitrault, P. et al. 2012. SNP mining in C. clementina BAC end sequences; transferability in the Citrus genus (Rutaceae), phylogenetic inferences and perspectives for genetic mapping. B. M. C. Genomics 13:13. [this study examined the usefulness of SNP markers derived from Citrus clementina for understanding the "origin of some secondary species and important cultivars"; it confirmed the hybrid origin of C. limon with a diverse genomic contribution from C. medica].
• Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
• Rehm, S. & G. Espig. 1991. The cultivated plants of the tropics and subtropics.
• Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants.
• Scora, R. W. 1975. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 102:369–375.
• Snoussi, H. et al. 2012. Assessment of the genetic diversity of the Tunisian citrus rootstock germplasm. B. M. C. Genetics 13:16.
• Swingle, W. T. & P. C. Reece. 1967. The botany of Citrus and its wild relatives.
• Tanaka, T. 1954. Species problem in Citrus: a critical study of wild and cultivated units of Citrus, based upon field studies in their native homes. In: Tanaka, T., Revisio Aurantiacearum. 9:114.
• Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966–. Flora of Iraq.
• Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964–1980. Flora europaea.
• Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986–. European garden flora.
• Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943–1980. Flora of Panama.

More:

Search AGRICOLA article citation database for citations referencing Citrus limon.

Search NCBI's Entrez search engine for PubMed citations referencing Citrus limon.

Search Biodiversity Heritage Library for historical publications referencing Citrus limon.

Synonyms:

• (=) Citrus limonum Risso
  (previously associated with 26 accessions)
• (≡) Citrus medica var. limon L. (basionym)
  

Check other web resources for Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.:

• Flora Europaea: Database of European Plants (ESFEDS)
• Mansfeld: Mansfeld's World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops
• ePIC: Electronic Plant Information Centre of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• AGRICOLA: Article Citation Database or NAL Catalog of USDA's National Agricultural Library
• Entrez: NCBI's search engine for PubMed citations, GenBank sequences, etc.

Check other web resources for images:

• PlantSystematics.org
• Note: Be advised that their identity may be inaccurate. Proper identification of a plant may require specialized taxonomic knowledge or comparison with properly documented herbarium material.

Abbreviations & symbols in GRIN Taxonomy

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