Hello list, Can anyone identify the lemon variety? The fruit is round with smooth skin, 2-3 inch diameter, seed less, fruits in bunches up to six at the tip of a branch, very weak main trunk can not support the weight of fruit/foliage, branches droop down to ground level, left un disturbed will form a bush rather than a tree. I have checked the following very comprehensive list of lemon/ lime but it apparently doesn't match the description: http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/maryellen.html Thanks Farooq
If the tree's new growth is tinged purple then it is a variety of lemon. If so, the rounded shape of the fruit suggests Meyer lemon.
That is what someone else also suggested but the person who wanted it to be identified says that "Meyer Lemon is a small to medium size orange yellow skinned citrus with a lemon like flesh that is juicy, but considerably less acidic and much sweeter than common lemons. Ref, http://users.kymp.net/citruspages/lemons.html#limoneiro" I am not sure, is there a confirmatory test for Meyer lemon? Thanks.
You could compare the taste to that of a store-bought Meyer lemon. Meyer lemon trees are often available at stores so you could compare the leaves with those trees.
If it's more bitter and complex in flavour than the store-bought Meyer (which should be startlingly sweet for a lemon), it's likely a Bearss lemon, which are hugely variable in fruit shape. My Bearss behaves almost exactly as you're describing your bush - the fruit often weighs down and snaps the branches, and left unchecked it would creep along quite low to the ground. It's only through assidious pruning and branch support that mine is now vaguely dwarf-tree shaped.
Thanks. Are your Bearss lemon seedless? The lemons shown in the picture are. Unfortunately I cannot compare the tastes because this tree is in another country (an acquaintance was interested in knowing the name) Farooq
Seediness of the fruit may depend on whether the flower was pollinated. If it's not a lemon, then perhaps it's a Palestine sweet lime. That will have an insipid taste.
