Lemons are harvested from small evergreen trees that are native to India and are now cultivated throughout the Mediterranean and most sub-tropical climates around the world. The trees can grow to 3-7 metres in height. The leaves are alternate, ovate-elliptical in shape, reddish when young, become dark-green in colour on the upper surface and light-green on the underside and 6-12cm in length. The 5-petaled flowers have a light fragrance; the flowers can grow in clusters or solitary and form in the leaf axils, they are white in colour with yellow stamens and a purplish underside. The fruits are oval with an apex protuberance 7-12cm in length the outer surface is bright yellow, tightly dimpled and waxy.
