The lemon, Citrus limon, owes its name entirely to the botanies, for its was unknown to classical writers.
The origin of lemon, has been a mystery, although there exists some indication that is a native of southeastern China, and it was cultivated before the Sung dynasty.
There was a suggestion that lemon originated in the foothills of Kashmir and reached the province of Kuan-tong by 1900 BC.
Apparently the lemon was introduced to Persia and Palestine at the beginning of the twelfth century A.D as it was then commonly grown in those countries and is described in many Arabia works of that period.
From the tenth century AD onwards the Arabs, took it all around the Mediterranean basin, eastwards to Greece by way of Constantinople, westwards to Spain by way of the Maghreb and Fezzan.
The transmigration to Europe belongs to the invasion of the West by those mighty caliphs, who from the heart of Southern Asia, extended their conquests to the foot of Pyrenees, leaving everywhere traces of their power and of their knowledge.
The lemon, thus transported by the Arabs into every part of their vast empire where it would grow, was found by the Crusaders in Syria and Palestine towards the end of the eleventh century.
The lemon was brought to northern Africa, Spain and Sicily, probably by the Crusaders, who followed the activities of the Arabs in spreading citrus culture.
The crusaders conquered Granada in 1492 and reunited the whole Spain. It seems likely that a range of lemon trees was already growing there and that the now colonist would have continued to cultivate as the Moors had done previously.
Once Spain and Portugal colonized most of the New World and they then introduced lemon to the Americas.
Lemon in History
