h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Lemons - A10436113
Author: Fruitylicious Opti- I prefer to start entries rather than finish them - U231227

Lemons for review....come and get your lovely lemons

How about lemons in the English language, like 'sitting there like a lemon'...

...or a link to 'Lemon Tree' by Peter, Paul ands Mary.

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/l/lemontree.shtml

Ref lemon oil, this is limonene which has a fungicidal effect. Also believed to have anti-cancer properties.

Questions:

what is limonene?
isn't there a word for what you are describing Cyzaki? I can't remember it can you?

There are a couple of things odd about this 'sentence' (ie definitely s'thing missing at the end):

The vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in lemons also . While the lemon's posession of vitamin B makes it anti-scorbutic and prevent.

Urm... lemony sayings? Except for it might have to be in the singular, because I can't think of any others...

I think this sentence should be moved to be the 2nd sentence of the whole Entry:

Lemon is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.

Hi there!

Some lemony sayings for you:

Do me a lemon (rhyming slang)Do me a lemon/lemonflavour/favour
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
It's a lemon (ie it's a dud, doesn't work...)

May I suggest that rather than listing these, you incorporate them soemhow into your text? Maybe as headigs or subheadings?



W

Reference scurvy:

Worth explaining what this is.

Worth saying that , in 1593 Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins cured an entire ship's company of scurvy by making them all drink lemon juice.
This was apparently forgotten until, in 1747, James Linfd proved experimentally that ornages and lemons cured scurvy, but various other things (cider, vinegat etc) did not. Capt. Cook, dureing his round the world voyage of 1773-76 acted on Lind's advice and supplied oranges, lemons and pickled cabbage to his men. Of 118 men who commenced this voyage, only one man died from disease - and it wasn't scurvy.

From 1795 onwards, daily rations of lemoin juice were compulsory in the British Navy. However, some time later they were replaced by the much cheaper and more inferior lime juice from British West Indies. (This gave rise to the nickname of 'limeys' for British sailors). You could then link this to 'History of British Navy Part 2 (1660-1815) when it gets thrugh PR (currently at A10138015).

nice to see a lemon entry

I would prefer to see the regular uses of lemons above trying to grow a lemon tree - that's not what immediately springs to mind with a lemon for most people.

Also, when choosing one... sometimes they are small (usually organic ones are small) sometimes large, sometimes very pronounced points, sometimes more rounded looking, rough skin, thin skin...

Perhaps a bit more about the varieties available?

under beauty, it's often recommended to use a halved, squeezed lemon piece on your elbows to smooth and whiten the skin (basically, you have to rest your elbows in them for half an hour or so)

and many people recommend drinking a glass of warm-to-hot water with the juice of one lemon squeezed into it in the morning. But I can't remember why.

and you didn't mention that they are a vital ingredient in a Gin and Tonic!!

Hi Optu,

I have to say I agree with Sho on the layout and the different lemons. You even have a 'sweet' lemon. I don't know what the proper name for it is. Looks like a lemon but tastes and smells totally different.... I would also add that the 'heavier' the lemon feels, the juicier it is.

Oh, and one more for the remedies... Excellent for flash burns though I have not worked out why.

My son stuck his thumb on a car lighter asyerdo... a couple of years ago in the remote village of Baskinta in Lebanon. During the hoohaa of ice and screaming child, an old man came hurrying out of the monastery we were visiting with a knife in one hand and a lemon in the other, sliced the lemon in half and stuck his thumb in there. Told him to leave it in until it stopped hurting. By the time my brother got us to the nearest doctor, it was charred and puckered but didn't hurt - and it has healed without a scar

I really must find out why it works.



W

Oh no!

Opti!

*bang head*preview*bang head*

'I really must try to find iut why (lemons are applied to burns)

Well, lemon oil, present mainly in the skin, contains several chemical compounds including alpha pinene, limonene etc, which have antiseptic properties (antibacterial, disinfectant). It is also used in blends to treat verrucas, insect bites etc.

Of course, Vit C itself boosts the body's resistance to illness, enhances irion absorption and aids wound healing - possibly by strengthening cell membranes.

Some researchers believe that limonene stimulates white blood cell activity (involved in immunity). As I think I said earlier, it also has fungicide activity.

thanks, BigAl! I'm on it


W

I grew up in a house surrounded by lemons, so I have a lot to add.

white star shaped-> very fragrant, white star-shaped

home remedies->Lemons are also for eating baking and flavoring, for scent, and decoration, and the flower scent is also used in perfumery, so this is a misleading understatement

propagation by seed-> It helps a lot if you can let the go through a whole summer (if the main crop sets in winter, as it does in California) and into the next winter. Lemons do not rot if you leave them on the tree, and overripe lemons tend to produce a large quantitiy of readily germinated seeds.


What's Phostogen?

minerals. While to->Sorry, I don't understand this section.

tree can support 6 ounces->tree's branches can support a fruit as big as 180g. If you let your lemon grow as a shrub instead of a tree, support for the fruit is much less problematical.

dissapointing->disappointing

95% of fruit lost->this happens all the time and is fairly normal for the plant to overset fruits, so it shouldn't be disappointing. Lemons also bear heavily one year and then lightly the next in an alternating schedule. They also will have a secondary crop for the same year that is always lighter than that year's crop (in spring in California) if you treat them nicely, so don't panic!

Crossing over/cut back->erm, no. This is good advice for most plants, but lemons are quite stubbornly shrubby and deliberately like to grow like this. You'll get yourself lots of green leaves and minimal (but v large!) fruits if you do trim them this way. You will also likely reset the bi-yearly schedule unless the tree is very old and set in it's ways.

Subheader choosing lemons->Harvesting Lemons

Leave them on the tree until you are likely to use them, they will rot much faster off the tree. In mild climates you can leave the same fruit on for a year and a half or more, and it will just get larger. When you do pick them, do not pick them off from the stem. Instead, cut the stem just above the lemon. Something about the stem end getting broken makes the fruit think it will become a new nursery for seeds and it will rot quick and lose it's sweetness and gain some bitter flavors. (yes, lemons do have a little sugar in them already).
Leave them unwashed after you pick them until you are ready to use them because they have a protective layer on their surface that is easily bruised and which will immediately start molding.

If you are going to juice them, roll them hard against a hard surface, hard enough that your whole house smells like lemon, not so hard the fruit splits. This will break the small cells inside the fruit, and you will get more flavorful and a larger quantity of juice. If you need the zest for christmas cake, use a special zester, because the white part of the peel will get bitter when baked.

The peel can be eaten-it's got lots of bioflavinoids, which are supporter chemicals that help with vitamin B and C metabolism. I love fresh lemon peel, but it's an acquired taste. The tastiest lemon peel also comes on overripe lemons, so if you are planning on letting them on the tree for seeds, know you are in for a treat.

Pests: All ants like lemons, not so much that they like the lemon tree so much as there are some scales on the tree which normally don't hurt the tree much. The ants prevent finches from eating them off because they like the honeydew. You don't need to flood the field, though. Just put something sticky on the bark so the ants can't defend the scale from predatory birds and wasps and you are fine.

Eating snails, that is the same brown ones that were imported here in California for eating by some enterprising Frenchman are a huge pest. You can put diatomaceous earth around the trunk, or pick them off by hand, since they are really obvious against the bright green leaves that they are eating.

Chlorosis-if there isn't enough iron, your lemon's leaves will get yellowish, and your plant will ail. I don't understand the whole thing about Epsom salts because the magnesium in it will interfere with iron uptake. I've only added iron sulfate.

...cures acidic problems...[and] depression...concentration-> I don't know that any of the things have been proven. How about 'It is believed by practitioners of herbal medicines that..."

Cholera->Cholera is a virulent and deadly bacterium and it seems highly unlikely any part of the lemon will work on it. Perhaps this is better omitted.

Blimey, I didn't realise we had so many citrus experts (I'm intrigued to know how Sea Change grew up in a house surrounded by them!) on h2g2.

I think this Entry's looking really good. It's one of those Entries that's got so many facts in it there's a lot of linking potential so here are a few words picked from the Entry, with accompanying links...

ants: A4889451
rabbits: A583283
water: A273179
bad colds: A1032102
depression: A685037
vitamin: A1002763
conditioner: A851627
relaxation: A930179
summer drinks: A2892215
salad: A738641
Italy: A297100
France: A297083.

@ Nat.

I didn't realise we had so many people so passionfruit, I mean passionate about fruit!

It's great!

Please finish this one Opti

Wilma is it possible to use your story in my entry?

Thanks to all so far for your coments......I've been beavering away this evening working on them.

Look forward to hear more from you all

Hi Opti,
Sorry for the silence, BT decided we did not deserve to have a telephone line during Holy Week
Yes, of course you can use the story.

W

Sorry to hear about the annoyance of BT

I came to the decision that I wont put your story in after all I just dont think it would sit right