Plant of the Day

October 23, 2026

CITRON

A native of all the warm regions of Asia, the Citron was introduced into Europe from Media, and hence obtained the name of Malus Medica. During the feast of the Tabernacles, the Jews in their synagogues carry a Citron in their left hand; and a conserve made of a particular variety of the fruit is in great demand by the Jews, who use it during the same feast. According to Athenæus, certain notorious criminals, who had been condemned to be destroyed by serpents, were miraculously preserved, and kept in health and safety by eating Citrons. Theophrastus says that Citrons were considered an antidote to poisons, for which purpose Virgil recommended them in his Georgics. Gerarde thus translates the passage:—

“The countrey Media beareth juices sad,
And dulling tastes of happy Citron fruit,
Than which no helpe more present can be had,
If any time stepmothers, worse than brute,
Have poyson’d pots, and mingled herbs of sute
With hurtful charmes: this Citron fruit doth chase
Black venome from the body in every place.
The tree itselfe in growth is large and big,
And very like in show to th’ Laurell-tree;
And would be thought a Laurell leafe and twig,
But that the smell it casts doth disagree:
The floure it holds as fast as floure may be:
Therewith the Medes a remedie do finde
For stinking breaths and mouthes, a cure most kinde,
And helpe old men which hardly fetch their winde.”

Della Valle, an Italian traveller of the seventeenth century, relates how, at Ikkeri, he saw an Indian widow, on her way to the funeral pyre, riding on horseback through the town, holding in one hand a mirror, in the other a Citron, and whilst gazing into the mirror she uttered loud lamentations. De Gubernatis thinks that perhaps the Citron was the symbol of the life become bitter since the death of her husband.

Rapin recommends the Citron for heart affections:—

“Into an oval form the Citrons rolled
Beneath thick coats their juicy pulp unfold:
From some the palate feels a poignant smart,
Which though they wound the tongue, yet heal the heart.”