![Piretto-citron Piretto-citron](https://www.siciliaverde.it/resources/uploads/_resize/image.php?i=schermata-2022-09-15-alle-183702.png&width=1170&height=&cropratio=&image=/resources/uploads/products/schermata-2022-09-15-alle-183702.png&no_watermark=1)
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.