Regarding lemons and limes (a funny story)

[Duer 157099]

My son was just in the backyard watering, and he comes in and hands me a lemon and says:

"Here's a lime"

I look at it, and then at him, trying to discern what the joke is.

I say:

"This is a lemon"

To which he replies:

"Well, it was growing on the lime tree"

So I ask him:

"Well, how do you know it's a lime tree?"

And he says:

"Because it still has the tag on it from the store, and it says it's a lime tree"

Ummmmmmmm I don't know whether to laugh or cry! (he's 14)

Please somebody tell me, if a lime stays too long on it's tree, does it turn into a lemon? :rofl:

You know, if you leave green bell peppers on, they turn to red -- is it like that?

[htuttle]

1. That must be a rare Spritus Sodiferous...otherwise known as the 'Uncola Tree'

Popularized in a series of TV commercials starring Geoffrey Holder in the 1970's...

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

2. limes will turn yellow if they stay on the tree.

and my parent's lime tree makes pretty yellow limes. i always have to mark the bag when i bring some home. :hide:

[Duer 157099]

3. No! Are you kiddding?

I thought they would just drop to the ground as green limes, eventually.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

4. i'm not kidding. they have a lime and a lemon tree and the fruit

looks the same except the lemons are a bit bigger. i always bring home two big bags when we visit and i have to mark which is which.

[Duer 157099]

6. Well so much for the biblical verse:

"...by their fruits you will know them."

This thing looks like a lemon (it's not round), smells like a lemon. We'll see what it tastes like when I cut it.

:shrug:

Since this is the first fruit from this tree, I'm really thinking that the nursery just mislabeled it.

[Sentath]

5. Nope

'They' dye the ones in the stores so the consumer can tell the difference without damaging the skin to smell them.

[pinto]

7. LOL. And then there's this:

The Meyer lemon (Citrus × meyeri) is a citrus fruit, native to China, thought to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin orange or sweet orange. The Meyer lemon was introduced to the United States in 1908 as S.P.I. #23028, by the agricultural explorer Frank Meyer, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture who collected a sample of the plant on a trip to China. It is commonly grown in China potted as an ornamental plant. 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. The Meyer lemon is also known as the Valley lemon in southern Texas due to its popularity in the Rio Grande Valley region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_lemon

Is it a lemon or an orange?

I guess the genus 'Citrus' is pretty fluid and prone to variation.

(I've heard the Ruby Red Grapefruit of Texas fame came from a single sport of a standard grapefruit that some keen eyed farmer snagged and fostered.)