Citrus limon

The lemon is native to the foothills of the Himalayas, and is cultivated in the plains of Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan. Used as a rootstock for oranges and grapefruit. Also commonly used for pickles.

Common Names:

in English: lemon

in Arabic: loomi

in Tanzania: elimayo

in China: ning meng

in India: amla, bara nebu, bara-nimbu, baranebu, brihat nimbe, cerunarakam, cherunaaranga, cherunaaranga pacha, dabba, dantasathah, dodda nimbe, elumiccai, elumichai, gol nemu, jambira, jambirah, jamiri nimbu, kalanbak, khatta, lembu, lemu, lemu-e-tursh, limoon, limpaka, mahajambiraphalam, mahanimbu tvak, naranga, nembu, nenbu, nimbu, nimbuka, nobab, pahari-nimbu, qalambak, tung-mang, utraj

in Japan: remon

in Tibet: dzam bi ri, dzi ma bi ra

Floral Description:

According to Flora of Pakistan

Spinous shrub or tree, 3-6 m tall. Leaves 6.5-100 mm, elliptic to ovate, serrulate, acute to acuminate. Leaf perfectly jointed to the petiole. Petiole narrowly winged. Flowers bisexual or male. Petals white, tinged purple. Stamens 20-30; Fruit oblong or rounded mamillate, yellow when ripe; pulp abundant and strongly acid.

According to Flora of China

Small trees. Branches ± spiny. Young leaves and flower buds reddish purple. Leaf blade ovate to elliptic, 8-14 × 4-6 cm, margin conspicuously crenulate, apex usually mucronate. Flowers solitary or several in fascicles. Flowers bisexual or male by ± complete abortion of pistil. Calyx cup-shaped; lobes 4 or 5. Petals 1.5-2 cm, outside purplish, inside white. Stamens 20-25 or more. Ovary subcylindric or barrel-shaped; stigma clavate. Fruit yellow, ellipsoid to ovoid, narrowed at both ends, surface usually coarse and lemon scented, apex usually with a mammilla; pericarp thick, difficult to remove; sarcocarp in 8-11 segments, pale yellow, acidic. Seeds ovoid, small, apex acute; seed coat smooth; embryo usually solitary but sometimes numerous; cotyledons milky white. 

Chemical Constitutes:

(E)-beta-Farnesene, (E)-Caryophyllene, (E)-Citral, (E)-Ocimene, (R)-linalool, (Z)-Citral, (Z)-Ocimene, 1,8-Cineole, 1-Hexadecanal, 2,6-Dimethyl-1,3,5,7-octatetraene, 2-Methylfuran, 2-Phenylethanol, 4'-Methoxychalcone, 4(10)-Thujene, 5,7,3'-Trihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavone, 5,7,3'-Trihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavone 7-O-rutinoside, 6,8-Di-C-glucopyranosyldiosmetin, 6-C-beta-D-Glucopyranosyldiosmetin, 6-Methyl-5-hepten-2-one, 7-Methoxy-5-prenyloxy-coumarin, 8-Heptadecene, Acetone, Aesculetin, Allo-Ocimene, alpha-Bergamotene, alpha-Myrcene, alpha-Pinene, alpha-Thujene, Benzaldehyde, Benzene acetonitrile, Benzeneacetaldehyde, beta-Bisabolene, beta-Pinene, Caffeic acid, Caffein, Calamenene, Carvyl acetate, Citral, Citronellal, Citrusin B, Clionasterol, Copaene, Curcumene, Ferulic acid, gamma-Terpinene, Gibberellin A1, Heptadecanal, Hordenine, Isolimocitrol 3-glucoside, Isolimocitrol-3-beta-D-glucoside, Isoprene, Isopropanol, Limocitrin, Limocitrin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, Limocitrin 3-rutinoside, Limocitrol, Limocitrol 3-glucoside, Limonene, Linaloyl acetate, Lutein, m-Hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid, Methyl anthranilate, Methyl epijasmonate, Myrcene, n-Phenylformamide, Naringin, Neo-allo-ocimene, Neohesperidin, Nerolidol, p-Coumaric acid, p-Cymene, p-Hydroxyphenyl acetic acid, Paraxanthine, Pentadecanal, Pentadecane, Phloretin, Quinic acid, Sinapic acid, Terpinolene, Theobromine, Theophylline, Tyramine, Vanillin, Vicenin 2, Violaxanthin, Xanthyletin

Medicinal Activities and uses:

Ripe fruits juice antiscorbutic, refrigerant, used in scurvy, rheumatism, dysentery, diarrhea; rind of the ripe fruit stomachic, carminative. Citrus limon seeds poultice with tubers of Cyperus rotundus applied on inflammation of joints. Aroma of the bruised leaves inhaled in vomiting; leaves with the leaves of Gossypium herbaceum pounded, warmed with coconut oil and rubbed on the body as febrifuge. Veterinary medicine, fruit juice applied in bruises, contusions.