Citron Seed Citrus medica

LATIN NAME: Citrus medica

COMMON NAME: Citron

The citron is the oldest of the citrus fruits, and the big, knobbly, thick-skinned fruit is the one the old trade carried across the world. The small, thorny, evergreen tree carries the large, glossy leaves and the fragrant, white, purple-backed flowers through the year, to be followed by the large, oblong, lemon-yellow fruits with the very thick, rough, warty rind. The rind has a very long record in the old practice and the old kitchens, and the tree is a fine, historic presence of the warm garden and the pot. It is a tree of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The citron is an old, historic subject of the plant science, and the thick rind keeps showing up in the work on the citrus group. The breeding and the history of the citron, one of the founding fruits of the citrus family, have been studied at length, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the citrus genetics, the aromatic rinds and the members of the rue family. The large, glossy leaves and the fragrant flowers have also made it a fine garden tree, and the citron is a regular subject of the work on the oldest citrus fruits of the warm world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The citron is a fine, historic tree of the warm garden and the pot. The large, warty, lemon-yellow fruits carry the very thick, fragrant rind, which has a very long record in the old practice and the old kitchens as the candied peel and the aromatic essence, and the whole fruit perfumes the room where it sits. The tree carries the fragrant, white flowers through the year, and it is one of the fine choices for the large pot, the orangery and the warm border. It has been written up in the culinary and the botanical papers for the warty rind and the very long history, and it is a fine, historic tree of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.

The citron is one of the founding fruits of the citrus family, and the warty rind has a very long record as the candied peel and the aromatic essence. The fragrant, white, purple-backed flowers open through the year.

To grow the citron from seed, sow the small, flat seeds a centimetre down in a tray of moist, free-draining soil, keep the tray in a warm, bright spot and water gently. The seedlings are up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun, the warmth and the well-drained ground, the fragrant flowers will come through the year.

The citron (Citrus medica) grows as a shrub to a maximum height of 3 m. The fruits are very large, very fragrant and are used for industrial production of the lemon peel. The foliage is larger than that of other citrus species.