Piretto citron

Piretto-citron

Botanical name: Citrus medica
Common name: Piretto citron

General features: The citron plant has thorny branches and an irregular habit. The leaves are large and oblong with serrated margins, reddish in colour as soon as they sprout, turning a beautiful dark green colour as adults. The flowers are fragrant and large, purplish-red in bud while when open they have a white interior and a purple suffused exterior, with a great ornamental effect. The light yellow fruit can reach a size of 20-30 cm and has a characteristic elongated shape, sometimes pointed and with a slight protuberance at the stalk. The skin is very rough and exceptionally thick.

Curiosity: The albedo (i.e. the white inner part) of the piretto citron, also known as the bread citron, makes up to 70 % of the fruit and is juicy, so it is eaten together with the pulp, which is sweeter than that of a lemon.

Ornamental virtues: In recent years, the citron has had considerable success as an ornamental plant in pots due to its fragrant, showy blossom and large, bright yellow fruit. It is a re-flowering plant, like the lemon, and thanks to this features it generates several annual cycles of fruiting.

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