Lemonade fruit (''
Citrus limon
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes.
''Citrus'' is native ...
x
reticulata''), otherwise known as Lemonade lemon, New Zealand lemonade or Unlemon
is a variety of
sweet lemon
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:
...
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes.
''Citrus'' is nativ ...
fruit, believed to be a hybrid between a
mandarin orange
A mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), often simply called mandarin, is a small, rounded citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. The mandarin is small and oblate, unlike the ...
and a
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...
.
It was first discovered in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
in the 1980s as a chance seedling,
and is grown principally in the warmer parts of the country. The lemonade fruit is grown widely in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. It is also cultivated in the
Central Valley of California
The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California, United States. It is wide and runs approximately from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast. It cover ...
and
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
in the United States.
Description
The fruit resembles that of a lemon, but round instead of ellipsoidal, ranging between 7 and 10 cm in diameter. The smooth rind is yellow when ripe and can be peeled by hand.
The flesh resembles the lemon in taste, but sweeter with some acidity, containing 9 to 11 segments with few to no seeds. It is not to be confused with the
Meyer lemon
''Citrus'' × ''meyeri'', the Meyer lemon (), is a hybrid citrus fruit native to China. It is a cross between a citron and a mandarin/pomelo hybrid.
Mature trees are around tall with dark green shiny leaves. The flowers are white with a purp ...
.
See also
*
Sweet lime
Sweet lemon and sweet lime refer to groups of citrus hybrids that contain low acid Juice vesicles, pulp and juice. They are hybrids often similar to non-sweet lemons or lime (fruit), limes, but with less citron parentage. Sweet limes and lemon ...
References
Citrus
Citrus hybrids
Lemons
Oranges (fruit)
New Zealand fruit
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