PONDEROSA LEMON (BIGGEST LEMONS EVER)

The gigantic fruit of the ponderosa “lemon,” or Citrus x pyriformis, is the biggest citrus in the world. It is a hybrid of a pomelo and a citron, thus it is not a true lemon. It was probably derived from a cross between a wild citrus and a domesticated citrus, such as a variety of a bitter orange. It can weight as much as 5 pounds and is often the size of grapefruits. Furthermore, like other citrus, lemons are actually a berry. 

The example shown above is from northern Los Angeles County, southern California. Such plants are not native to this area; they have to be purchased from plant nurseries.

The tree from whence the giant fruit came from (i.e. after it was picked). You can see some regular sized fruit still on the tree.

Some other big "lemons" from the same tree (shown above). Although, these are large, they are not as big as the giant one shown above. These big "lemons" are in the process of growing into giants.

The fossil record of citrus fruit is is poor! The earliest fossils of citrus plants (in general) are of late Miocene age (8 million years ago) and  are found in southwestern China.

Reference Consulted: A blog by Jerry James Stone (2023).