Citrus meyeri, the Meyer lemon , is a citrus fruit native to China thought to be a cross between a true lemon and either a mandarin or common orange . It was introduced to the United States in 1908 as S.P.I. #23028 [1] by the agricultural explorer Frank Nicholas Meyer , an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture who collected a sample of the plant on a trip to China . [2] The Meyer lemon is commonly grown in China in garden pots as an ornamental tree . It became popular as a food item in the United States after being rediscovered by chefs such as Alice Waters at Chez Panisse during the California Cuisine revolution at the end of the 1990s. [3] [4] Popularity further climbed when Martha Stewart began featuring them in her recipes. [2] Description [ edit ] Citrus meyeri trees are around 6 to 10ft (2 to 3m ) tall at maturity , though they can be pruned smaller. Their leaves are dark green and shiny. The flowers are white with a purple base and fragrant. The Meyer lemon fruit is yellow and rounder than a true lemon . The skin is fragrant and thin, coloured a deep yellow with a slight orange tint when ripe . Meyer lemon fruits have a sweeter , less acidic flavor than the more common Lisbon or Eureka supermarket lemon varieties . The pulp is a dark yellow and contains up to 10 seeds per fruit . Cultivation [ edit ] Citrus meyeri is reasonably hardy and grows well in warm climates . They are also fairly vigorous ; a tree grown from seed usually begins fruiting in four years yielding thousands of lemons . While trees produce fruit throughout the year, the majority of the crop is harvest-ready in winter . [5] Trees require adequate water , but less in the winter . For maximum yield , they should be fertilized during growing periods . Meyer lemons are popular as ornamental plants due to their compact size , hardiness and productivity . They are highly decorative and suitable for container growing . Improved Meyer [ edit ] By the mid- 1940s the Meyer lemon had become widely grown in California . However, at that time it was discovered that a majority of the Meyer lemon trees being cloned were symptomless carriers of the Citrus tristeza virus , a virus which had killed millions of citrus trees all over the world and rendered other millions useless for production . [5] After this finding, most of the Meyer lemon trees in the United States were destroyed to save other citrus trees . A virus-free selection was found in the 1950s by Don Dillon of the California company Four Winds Growers , [6] and was later certified and released in 1975 by the University of California as the 'Improved Meyer lemon ' Citrus meyeri 'Improved'. [7] [8] ^ "Lemon " . Hort.purdue.edu. Retrieved 2014-06-09. ^ a b O'Hara , Julie (18 February 2009). "The Meyer Lemon : More Than A Pretty Face " . National Public Radio . Retrieved 2009-02-20. For more than a century , the Meyer lemon was known mostly for its looks. In its native China , it was primarily a decorative houseplant . The Meyer lemon might still be decorating homes today if it weren't for one man . In the early 1900s, the U S Department of Agriculture sent Frank N. Meyer , an agricultural explorer (yes, that was his actual job title) on several trips to Asia with the mission of collecting new plant species . Among more than 2,500 plants that he introduced to the U S , the Meyer lemon was named in his honor . Sadly, Meyer would never live to see the success of his namesake. He died on an expedition near Shanghai in 1918. ^ Lowry , Patricia (February 12, 2009). "When life hands you Meyer lemons , life is sweet " . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh ). "Meyer lemons are sweet , thin-skinned and famous for their ethereal perfume . Although common in California backyards, they are just beginning to be commercialized . Ask your friends or relatives in California to send you some," Alice Waters wrote in her "Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook " in 1999. A decade later you don't have to beg , thanks in part to Ms . Waters ' championing of the Meyer and to more growers entering commercial production . ^ Slow Food USA . "Domestic Programs " . Slow Food USA . Retrieved 2014-06-09. ^ Four Winds Growers : Meyer Lemon Origins [ dead link ] ^ Markoulakis, Sophia (May 2005). "Meyer Lemon Sweet Enough To Squeeze " . Master Gardener News Amador County . University of California Cooperative Extension . p.6. Archived from the original on 7 March 2006. ^ Reuther, Walter ; Leon Dexter Batchelor ; E. Clair Calavan; Herbert John Webber ; Glenn E. Carman ; Robert G Platt (June 1989). Citrus Industry : Crop Protection . University of California . p.195. ISBN 0-931876-24-9 . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation , Inc . , a non-profit organization .