Citrus medica (Citron)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Rosids > Eurosid II > Order: Sapindales > Family: Rutaceae > Genus: Citrus

Citron is thought to be native to India and then to have spread prehistorically, through cultivation, to other parts of Asia, and Europe. Fruit are yellow, ovoid-oblong and can be large, measuring up to 30 cm long. They have a very thick rind and sour juicy parts. The rind is used in making candied confectionery and marmalade but Citron is used predominantly for medicinal and ritual purposes rather than for food.

Citron is thought to be native to India and then to have spread prehistorically, through cultivation, to the Near East and China. By 300 BC it was known in Greece, and by 20 BC it was being cultivated in Italy. Fruit are yellow, ovoid-oblong and can be large, measuring up to 30 cm long. They have a very thick rind and sour juicy parts. The rind is used in making candied confectionery and marmalade but Citron is used predominantly for medicinal and ritual purposes rather than for food. It is also used as a scent. From a ritual point of view, Citron is used in Budhist ceremonies, and since about 100 BC, Citron has played an important part in the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles. 

Publications

• Brown, D. 2002. The Royal Horticultural Society New Encyclopedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London.

• Sauer, J.D. 1993. Historical geography of crop plants - a select roster. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.