Where Lemons Come From

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8/15/2012

Where Lemons Come From

The origin of the lemon is a mystery, though it is thought that lemons first grew in Southern India, northern Burma, and China. A study of the genetic origin of the lemon reported that it is a hybrid between sour orange and citron.

Lemons entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the 1st century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome. However, they were not widely cultivated. They were later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around 700 AD. The lemon was first recorded in literature in a 10th century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens. It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 and 1150.

_{Production Of Lemons & Limes By Country}


	_Country	_{Metric Tons}	_{% Of World}
₁	_India	_3,098,900	_22.34%
₂	_Mexico	_1,891,400	_13.63%
₃	_Argentina	_1,113,380	_8.03%
₄	_China	_1,058,105	_7.63%
₅	_Brazil	_1,020,350	_7.36%
₆	_{United States}	_800,140	_5.77%
₇	_Turkey	_787,063	_5.67%
₈	_Iran	_706,800	_5.10%
₉	_Spain	_578,200	_4.17%
₁₀	_Italy	_522,377	_3.77%
₁₁	_Egypt	_318,111	_2.29%
₁₂	_Peru	_233,032	_1.68%
₁₃	_{South Africa}	_215,980	_1.56%
₁₄	_Thailand	_171,074	_1.23%
₁₅	_Chile	_155,000	_1.12%
₁₆	_{Syrian Arab Republic}	_142,200	_1.03%
₁₇	_Lebanon	_113,100	_0.82%
₁₈	_Guatemala	_110,600	_0.80%
₁₉	_Pakistan	_88,120	_0.64%
₂₀	_Colombia	_87,474	_0.63%
_World		_13,871,976

**Source: FAO. Prepared By; Rob Cook

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