When life gives you lemons, why not read 15 amazing facts all about them? We’ve put together the best lemon tree facts around, to help you discover more about this fascinating plant and its history. So read on to discover how lemons originally came to be, the symbolism of the lemon tree, and which famous person introduced them to the Americas! And if you loved these lemon tree based facts, check out more nature facts right here! How about some tree-mendous oak facts? Or maybe yew’ll prefer these yew tree facts! We’ve even got some super bizarre plant facts!

1. Lemon Trees Are a Hybrid

That means that lemons are actually a combination of two other fruits! Thousands of years ago, cross pollination by insects occurred between two citrus plants such as the sour orange and the citron – creating lemons! Humans continued to cultivate this hybrid plant and grow lemons as we know them today!

2. They Were First Grown Thousands of Years Ago

Lemon trees have been around for a long time. It’s thought they were first cultivated in Asian countries such as India, China and Myanmar. The popularity of lemons soon spread over the Middle East and into Southern Europe, both places with a perfect climate for lemon growing. In Persia (modern day Iran) the remains of a lemon tree were found that dated back 2,500 years! The ancient Romans also loved lemon trees, as they were a way to show off wealth and abundance in their gardens.

3. Lemon Trees Produce a Lot of Lemons

If the tree is large enough, it can yield about 1,000 lemons a year! And if that tree lives to 100, that’s 100,000 lemons in a lifetime! What would you do with so many lemons?

4. They Were Brought to the Americas in the 15th Century

The first person to bring lemons to the Americas was Christopher Columbus when he travelled to Haiti in 1493 from Italy. Columbus brought lemon pips with him in the hope of planting them and growing lemon trees in the ‘New World’ as the Europeans referred to the Americas. Over the next few hundred years, lemon trees continued to be spread and grow throughout North and South America.

5. They Symbolise Many Different Things

Lemons aren’t just a tasty fruit, they also come with meaning. The Lemon tree is traditionally seen as a sign of wealth and abundance, as producing lemons has historically been expensive and difficult. The lemon tree also symbolises cleansing and healing, due to its uses in cleaning.

6. They Are Associated With Sicily

Although lemons have been grown all over the world, one of the places they are most associated with is Sicily, the large island off the southern coast of Italy. Here, lemons are a cultural symbol as well as a popular fruit, used to make sweets, drinks and ice-cream. They were originally brought to Sicily in the 10th century, where the hot dry climate is perfect for lemon growing!

7. Lemons Have Lots of Uses

Lemons are a very diverse fruit. Not only can they be used in cooking, to flavour dishes or make them richer, they are also used in medicine and as a very effective cleaning product. This is because they are a natural disinfectant!

8. You Can Grow Them in The UK

Even though lemons are often considered an exotic fruit, its possible to grow lemon trees in the UK! They need a lot of care and attention, and may need to be moved indoors in the winter, but its perfectly possible to get your own lemons in Britain!

9. They Can Live Up to 100 Years!

Lemon trees are surprisingly hardy! They can live up to 100 years – although the average is more like 50. A 100 year old lemon tree would need perfect conditions to thrive, like temperature and environment.

10. Lemons Start As Flowers

Did you know that lemons actually begin as flowers? The lemon flower is whitish and purple, with several petals and a faint fragrance. The lemon flower has both male and female reproductive parts, which means you only need one tree in order to grow lemons! But they can be cross pollinated with other citrus fruits too.

11. India Grows the Most Lemons

Out of all the countries in the world, India grows the most lemons, with a whopping 17% of the world’s lemons coming from there! That’s almost four million tonnes of lemons a year!

12. Lemonwood and Lemon Trees Are Two Different Things

The wood from a lemon tree is actually called citrus wood. It can be used as firewood but otherwise doesn’t have a lot of uses. Lemonwood, on the other hand, is a wood found in South America, and is often used in wood turning and carvings.

13. Lemons Contain a Lot of Vitamin C

Lemons contain a lot of vitamin c – more than melons, apples or raspberries. Vitamin C is super important to a healthy body. It’s the vitamin that is essential for healthy bones, growth, hair and helps to strengthen your immune system. You might find it easier to eat an orange than a lemon though, and they also have loads of vitamin C!

14. Lemons Can Also Be Used in Medicine

Lemons have been used in medicine for a long time! This includes using its high vitamin C content to treat scurvy, a disease caused my malnutrition that many sailors were affected by in the past. Scottish doctor James Lind was one of the first people to realise that providing sailors with citrus fruit could help their condition.

15. There Are Many Different ‘Lemons’

As well as a classic lemon, there are lots of other citrus fruits also called ‘lemons’ that you may have come across. These include the flat lemon, the Meyer lemon, rough lemons and sweet lemons, which look more like limes!