Meyer lemon | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Rutaceae |
Genus: | Citrus |
Species: | C. ×meyeri |
Binomial name | |
Citrus ×meyeri Yu.Tanaka | |
Citrus × meyeri, the Meyer lemon (Chinese :梅爾檸檬; pinyin :méiěr níngméng), [1] is a hybrid citrus fruit native to China. It is not a lemon, but is instead a cross between a citron and a mandarin/pomelo hybrid. [2]
Mature trees are around 6 to 10 ft (2 to 3 m) tall with dark green shiny leaves. The flowers are white with a purple base and are fragrant. The fruit is rounder than a true lemon, deep yellow with a slight orange tint when ripe, and has a sweeter, less acidic flavor. The lemons contain a highly acidic pH of between 2 and 3. This acidity level allows for these lemons to be used as antibacterial and antiseptic cleaners.
It was introduced to the United States in 1908 as S.P.I. #23028 [3] by the agricultural explorer Frank Nicholas Meyer, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture who collected a sample of the plant on a trip to China. [4] Though it is given his name, this variety was likely established thousands of years before he introduced it to America. [5]
The Meyer lemon is commonly grown in China in garden pots as an ornamental tree. It became popular as a food item in the United States after being rediscovered by chefs such as Alice Waters at Chez Panisse during the rise of California cuisine starting in the 1970s. [6] [7] Popularity further climbed when Martha Stewart began featuring them in some of her recipes. [4]
Citrus × meyeri trees are around 6 to 10 ft (2 to 3 m) tall at maturity, though they can be pruned smaller. Their leaves are dark green and shiny. The flowers are white with a purple base and are fragrant. [8]
The Meyer lemon fruit is yellow and rounder than a true lemon. [8] The skin is fragrant and thin, colored a deep yellow with a slight orange tint when ripe. Meyer lemon fruits have a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common Lisbon or Eureka supermarket lemon varieties. [8] The pulp is a dark yellow and contains up to 10 seeds per fruit.
The Meyer lemon is popular as an ornamental plant for its compact size, hardiness, and productivity. It is decorative and suitable for container growing. It is one of the sweetest lemons and even the skin is edible. [9] Growing a Meyer lemon tree can either be done in a pot or straight from the ground, but the plant requires plenty of sunlight. However, too much sunlight is possible and can burn the plant if exposed for long periods. This is why summer sun, morning sunlight, and some afternoon shade are ideal for taking the best care of the lemon tree. [10] The tree is reasonably hardy and grows well in warm climates. It is fairly vigorous, with a plant grown from a young graft usually beginning to fruit in four years, yielding thousands of lemons over its lifetime.[ citation needed ] These plants require an adequate amount of water but well-drained soil is crucial. However, allowing the soil to dry out slightly between watering keeps the plant moist enough, but not too moist or dry. [9] Along with watering and sunlight, Meyer lemon trees need high nitrogen fertilizer that is slow-releasing. These plants should only be given fertilizer within the growing season (spring-fall) and never in the winter unless the leaves are yellowing; then, they should be given water and fertilizer. [11] While fruit is produced throughout the year, the majority of the crop is harvest-ready in winter. [12] Trees require adequate water, but less in the winter. For maximum yield, they should be fertilized during growing periods.
New branches are thorny to protect the young shoots, but the thorns transform into secondary branches with age. Pruning plays a very important role in growing the most successful tree; this keeps the plant in shape and avoids unnecessary overcrowding plants to leave room for the lemons. It allows the plant to receive the proper airflow, which enhances the plant to grow strong and well while also preventing the plant from any potential diseases. [11] .
The Meyer lemon is sweeter than other lemons with only a slight tartness, and is said to taste a bit like a tangerine, or a navel orange. [13] It is used often to season fish and seafood. [13]
By the mid-1940s, the Meyer lemon had grown widely in California. However, at that time, it was discovered that most of the Meyer lemon trees being cloned were symptomless carriers of the Citrus tristeza virus, which had killed millions of citrus trees all over the world and rendered other millions useless for production. [14] After this finding, most of the Meyer lemon trees in the United States were destroyed to save other citrus trees.
A virus-free selection was found in the 1950s [15] and was certified and released in 1975 by the University of California as the 'Improved Meyer lemon' – Citrus × meyeri 'Improved'. [16] [17]
Kumquats, or cumquats in Australian English, are a group of small, angiosperm, fruit-bearing trees in the family Rutaceae. Their taxonomy is disputed. They were previously classified as forming the now-historical genus Fortunella or placed within Citrus, sensu lato. Different classifications have alternatively assigned them to anywhere from a single species, Citrus japonica, to numerous species representing each cultivar. Recent genomic analysis defines three pure species, Citrus hindsii, C. margarita and C. crassifolia, with C. × japonica being a hybrid of the last two.
Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus Citrus is native to South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and Australia. Various citrus species have been used and domesticated by indigenous cultures in these areas since ancient times. From there its cultivation spread into Micronesia and Polynesia by the Austronesian expansion ; and to the Middle East and the Mediterranean via the incense trade route, and onwards to Europe and the Americas.
Calamansi, also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is a citrus hybrid cultivated predominantly in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, as well as parts of southern China and Taiwan.
The mandarin orange, also known as mandarin or mandarine, is a small, rounded citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Tangerines are a group of orange-colored citrus fruit consisting of hybrids of mandarin orange with some pomelo contribution.
The citron, historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization. Though citron cultivars take on a wide variety of physical forms, they are all closely related genetically. It is used in Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, traditional medicines, perfume, and religious rituals and offerings. Hybrids of citrons with other citrus are commercially more prominent, notably lemons and many limes.
Citrus limetta, alternatively considered to be a cultivar of Citrus limon, C. limon 'Limetta', is a species of citrus, commonly known as mousami, musami, sweet lime, sweet lemon, and sweet limetta, it is a member of the sweet lemons. It is small and round like a common lime in shape. It is a cross between the citron and a bitter orange.
The limequat is a citrus hybrid that is the result of a cross between the Key lime and the kumquat, hybridized by Walter Tennyson Swingle in 1909.
Persian lime, also known by other common names such as seedless lime, Bearss lime and Tahiti lime, is a citrus fruit species of hybrid origin, known only in cultivation. The Persian lime is a triploid cross between Key lime and lemon.
Citrus bergamia, the bergamot orange, is a fragrant citrus fruit the size of an orange, with a yellow or green colour similar to a lime, depending on ripeness.
The Key lime or acid lime is a citrus hybrid native to tropical Southeast Asia. It has a spherical fruit, 2.5–5 centimetres in diameter. The Key lime is usually picked while it is still green, but it becomes yellow when ripe.
The Valencia orange is a sweet orange cultivar named after the famed oranges in València, Spain. It was first hybridized by pioneer American agronomist and land developer William Wolfskill in the mid-19th century on his farm in Santa Ana, southern California, United States, North America.
Rangpur, Citrus × limonia or Citrus reticulata × medica, sometimes called the rangpur lime, mandarin lime or lemandarin, is a hybrid between the mandarin orange and the citron. It is a citrus fruit with a very acidic taste and an orange peel and flesh.
An orange, also called sweet orange to distinguish it from the bitter orange, is the fruit of a tree in the family Rutaceae. Botanically, this is the hybrid Citrus × sinensis, between the pomelo and the mandarin orange. The chloroplast genome, and therefore the maternal line, is that of pomelo. The sweet orange has had its full genome sequenced.
Sweet lemon and sweet lime refer to groups of citrus hybrids that contain low acid pulp and juice. They are hybrids often similar to non-sweet lemons or limes, but with less citron parentage. Sweet limes and lemons are not sharply separated:
The sweet lime, Citrus limettioides Tan., is often confused with the sweet lemon, C. limetta Tan., which, in certain areas, is referred to as "sweet lime". In some of the literature, it is impossible to tell which fruit is under discussion.
The ponderosa lemon is a citrus hybrid of a pomelo and a citron. It is not the same as the 'Yuma Ponderosa' lemon-pomelo hybrid used as citrus rootstock.
The lemon is a species of small evergreen tree in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar, and China.
The micrantha is a wild citrus from the papeda group, native to southern Philippines, particularly islands of Cebu and Bohol. Two varieties are recognized: small-flowered papeda, locally known as biasong, and small-fruited papeda or samuyao.
The lumia is also called the pear lemon, since its shape resembles a pear. It is also called French lime and sometimes sweet lemon, even though it is not necessarily sweet.
Citrus taxonomy refers to the botanical classification of the species, varieties, cultivars, and graft hybrids within the genus Citrus and related genera, found in cultivation and in the wild.
Citrus reshni also known as Cleopatra mandarin is a citrus tree that is commonly used in agriculture as a rootstock of different cultivated species of citrus, mostly orange, grapefruit, tangerine and lemon. It originated in India and later was introduced to Florida from Jamaica in the mid-nineteenth century.
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