Lemon

Citrus limon

Rutaceae

The acid citrus of the pantry — a squeeze, a preserved rind, a folklore cold cup that is mostly vitamin C and hot water.

Ripe fruit is food. Peel oil is a kitchen zest, not a cup of essential oil. Grapefruit-family drug interactions are weaker here but concentrated peel products are not lemonade.

Parts used: Juice · Zest
Traditional notes: Kitchen acid · Preserved lemon · Traditional hot cup with honey
Grow · USDA 6b: Tender tree, USDA 9–11; a pot you roll inside north A nursery tree on a named rootstock. Seedlings are thorny and late. In work: Jan · Feb · Mar · Oct · Nov · Dec
Harvest: When fully yellow (or Meyer-orange) and heavy. They hang well.

A south window and a dolly.
Scale insects love a dry indoor tree — rinse the leaves.

Safety

Citrus essential oil internally Citrus allergy Open canker sores if the acid is misery

Companions

Plant with Nasturtium.

Lore

Arab agriculture brought it west; Sicily and Spain made it ordinary. British sailors later got lime and lemon against scurvy — the ‘limey’ is a vitamin C story. Preserved lemon is a North African pantry older than the supermarket bottle. A lemon in tea is hospitality, not a protocol.

The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.