Meyer Lemon of California’s Central Coast

The tree is moderately vigorous and more cold hardy than most other citrus. It reaches only 6 to 8 feet high at maturity and is an attractive garden tree. Meyer lemon trees flower intermittently throughout the year, but the main season of fruit production is the spring. The fruit is medium-sized, rounder than Eureka or Lisbon lemons, of a beautiful golden yellow, with a shiny, smooth skin and small pores. The rind is thin, and the fruit very juicy. The flavor is less acidic than that of true lemons, with a depth and complexity reminiscent of mandarins. It is a favorite ingredient with pastry chefs, and also produces a terrific marmalade. The Meyer lemon is not a true lemon, but is generally believed to be of a lemon x orange cross or a lemon x mandarin cross. Frank Meyer, a plant explorer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, brought the tree to the United States from Beijing, China, in 1908. It was further improved at University of California Riverside, and the improved Meyer lemon trees are virus-free.