GRIP

GRIP



Taxon:  Citrus medica L. (Citrus Citron Group)



Summary
Genus:
Citrus
Family:
Rutaceae
Subfamily:
Aurantioideae
Tribe:
Aurantieae
Subtribe:
Citrinae
Nomen number:
10745
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:782. 1753
Verified:
11/06/1985 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in National Plant Germplasm System. 
Other conspecific taxa
Citrus medica L. var. ethrog Engl. (0 active accession[s])
Citrus medica L. var. medica (0 active accession[s])
Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis (Hoola van Nooten) Swingle (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Homotypic Synonym(s)
Citrus acida Pers.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Citrus alata (Tanaka) Tanaka
Citrus medica L. var. alata Tanaka
Citrus medica L. var. conifera Loisel.
Citrus medica L. var. cucurbitina Loisel.
Citrus medica L. var. florentina Loisel.
Citrus medica L. var. limoniformis Loisel.
Citrus medica L. var. salodina Loisel.
No images


Reference(s)
  1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource) www.skud.info
  2. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
  3. Bayer, R. J. et al. 2009. A molecular phylogeny of the orange subfamily (Rutaceae: Aurantioideae) using nine cpDNA sequences. Amer. J. Bot. 96:668-685. Note: "native to India"
  4. Carbonell-Caballero, J. et al. 2015. A phylogenetic analysis of 34 chloroplast genomes elucidates the relationships between wild and domestic species within the genus Citrus. Molec. Biol. Evol. 32:2015-2035.
  5. Curk, F. et al. 2016. Phylogenetic origin of limes and lemons revealed by cytoplasmic and nuclear markers. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 117:565–583.
  6. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
  7. Elevitch, C. R., ed. The traditional tree initiative: species profiles for Pacific Island agroforestry (on-line resource). Note:
    • Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR), Holualoa, Hawai'i
    • http://www.traditionaltree.org/
  8. Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
  9. Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage
  10. Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
  11. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  12. Froelicher, Y. et al. 2011. New universal mitochondrial PCR markers reveal new information on maternal citrus phylogeny. Tree Genet. Genomes 7:49-61. Note: this study examined the origin of cultivated citrus; it included a sample of Citrus medica; it obtained seven mitotypes, one of which only included C. medica; it supported the interpretation of its role as paternal ancestor of "lemon, 'rough' lemon, 'Mexican' lime, 'Volkamer' lemon, 'Rangpur' line, 'Bergamot', and 'Palestine' lime"
  13. Garcia-Lor, A. et al. 2013. A nuclear phylogenetic analysis: SNPs, indels and SSRs deliver new insights into the relationships in the 'true citrus fruit trees' group (Citrinae, Rutaceae) and the origin of cultivated species. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 111:1-19.
  14. Gmitter, F. G. et al. 2007. Citrus fruits. Genome mapping and molecular breeding in plants (7 vols.) Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. 14:265-279.
  15. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  16. Li, X. et al. 2010. The origin of cultivated Citrus as inferred from Internal Transcribed Spacer and chloroplast DNA sequence and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism fingerprints. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 135:341-350.
  17. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third.
  18. Long, R. W. & O. Lakela. 1971. A flora of tropical Florida.
  19. Luro, F. et al. 2011. Analysis of genetic diversity in Citrus. Pl. Genet. Resources Charact. Util. 9:218-221. Note: this study recognized Citrus medica as one of the ancestral species of citrus cultivars, and confirmed by primary metabolic compounds; it also provided additional support for linking C. medica to the origin of "lemon, lemon hybrids, limes and combayas"
  20. Mabberley, D. J. 1997. A classification for edible Citrus (Rutaceae). Telopea 7:169.
  21. Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. 1936-. Flora of Peru Note: 1936-1971; new ser. 1980-
  22. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  23. Matthew, K. M. 1983. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic. Note: "occurs truly wild"
  24. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  25. Nicolosi, E. et al. 2000. Citrus phylogeny and genetic origin of important species as investigated by molecular markers. Theor. Appl. Genet. 100:1155-1166.
  26. Penjor, T. et al. 2013. Phylogenetic relationships of Citrus and its relatives based on matK gene sequences. PLoS One 8(4): e62574. Note: this study included two samples of Citrus medica that clustered together, and apart from the mandarins, pummelo, Poncirus and Fortunella clades
  27. Personal Care Products Council. INCI
  28. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  29. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  30. Reichel, S. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. German common names
  31. Reitz, R., ed. 1965-. Flora ilustrada catarinense.
  32. Scora, R. W. 1975. On the history and origin of Citrus. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 102:369-375. Note: as one of the "basic" species in the genus
  33. Soukup, J. 1970. Vocabulario de los nombres vulgares de la flora peruana.
  34. Swingle, W. T. & P. C. Reece. 1967. The botany of Citrus and its wild relatives.
  35. Tanaka, T. 1954. Species problem in Citrus: a critical study of wild and cultivated units of Citrus, based upon field studies in their native homes. Revisio Aurantiacearum. 9:113. Note: Maruzen Co. Ltd, Tokyo.
  36. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
  37. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
  38. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
  39. Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:131.
  40. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Common names
English
citron –
French
cédrat –
cédratier –
German
medischer Apfel –
Zitronatzitrone –
Italian
cedrato –
Portuguese
cidra –
cidreira –
Spanish
cidro –
Spanish (Peru)
toronja –
Swedish
suckatcitron –
Transcribed Chinese
xiang yuan –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateChinaChina  
2CultivatedEurope Europe  
6Other    possible origin n.e. India and China
Native
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India
Cultivated
Asia-Temperate
  • CHINA: China
Europe
  • REGION: Europe
Other (possible origin n.e. India and China)
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamentalfide Pl Res SEAs 2:133. 1991Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:131.
Food additivesflavoringfide Pl Res SEAs 2:132. 1991Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:131.
Human foodfruitfide Pl Res SEAs 2:132. 1991Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:131.
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://grip.mawarid.gov.om/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=10745. Accessed 29 April 2025.