Citrus limetta is a species of citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

. Common names for varieties of this species include sweet limetta, Mediterranean sweet lemon, sweet lemon, and sweet lime. In Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 it is called Limu Shirin لیمو شیرین (in Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

: Limu = Lemon and Shirin = Sweet). In India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, it is commonly called as Moosambi(Kannada), sathukudi(in Tamil), mousambi, mosambi, or musambi.(in Hindi/Urdu) and Bathaya Kaayalu (in Telugu). The Tamil name derived from the name of a village "sattukkudi' (சாத்துக்குடி) where this fruit was cultivated first in Tamil Nadu.

Appearance

It is a small tree which may reach 8 m in height. The sweet lemon has irregular branches, and relatively smooth, brownish-grey bark. It possesses numerous thorns which may grow to anywhere from 1.5 to 7.5 cm long. The petiole

Petiole (botany)

In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...

s of the sweet lemon are narrowly but distinctly winged, and are 8 to 29 mm long. It has leaflet

Leaflet

A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...

s rather than leaves, which are obovate and 5.5 to 17 cm long, 2.8 to 8 cm wide. The apex of the leaflet is acuminate

Leaf shape

In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...

, and the base of the leaflet is rounded. Flowers are white in bud and in bloom, ranging from 2 to 3 cm wide. The petals soon fall away, leaving the fruit to grow. The skin of the fruit is light yellow at maturity; the rind

Peel (fruit)

Peel, also known as rind or skin, is the outer protective layer of a fruit or vegetable which could be peeled off. The rind is usually the botanical exocarp, but the term exocarp does also include the hard cases of nuts, which are not named peels since they are not peeled off by hand or peeler, but...

 is white and about 5 mm thick. The pulp

Juice vesicles

The juice vesicles of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit’s endocarp. The vesicles contain the juice of the fruit. The pulp is usually removed from the juice by filtering it out...

 is greenish and the juice is sweet rather than acidic.

Range

It is native to South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

 and South East Asia and is cultivated in the Mediterranean region. It has been introduced to other regions of the world by humans. It is propagated

Plant propagation

Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.-Sexual propagation :...

 by seed.

Uses

The fruit of the sweet lemon is edible, and contains essential oils. The tree is used for ornamental

Ornamental

Ornamental may refer to:*Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration*Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work*Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qualities...

 purposes or for graft stock

Grafting

Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...

. In Iran, it is particularly used to treat flu and cold. The fruit has high levels of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). The juice is used by all, especially those who are sick.