Lemon, scientific name of the tree is Citrus lemon from genus of Citrus, family: Rutaceae.
Citrus fruits have been cultivated in southern China and Southeast Asia for approximately 4000 years.
Roman contact with Palestine led to continued spread of the lemon into the Mediterranean basin.
From there, lemon was brought to the rest of Europe about the time of Crusades.
Between 400 and 600 BC the lemon was introduced into the Middle East. By about 115o lemon had been introduced by the Arabs into Persian and northern Africa.
Later Christopher Columbus carried the fruit of lemon then into the new discovered continent, known as America, where it spread rapidly. He did it during the second voyage in 1493.
By the 17th century, lemons and other citrus fruits were well established in what is now Florida.
In 1747 James Lind formally proved that scurvy could be treated and prevented by supplementing the diet with citrus fruits of lemons and oranges. Lind is characterized as one of the greatest of early naval physicians.
Today, California is the primary source of lemons in the United States, and Arizona ranks second.
History of Lemon
