Could someone please tell me what fruit this is?

Dee Mosby
by Dee Mosby
There are Thorns on the branches, the fruit doesnt have a strong smell it doesnt smell like lemon or lime?
  34 answers
  • Julie Gibson Julie Gibson on Oct 16, 2013
    Maybe a limequat? Mine looks just like this and has thorns. It's a cross between a key lime and a kumquat. Maybe you have something similar to a key lime (very small) over there?
    • Dee Mosby Dee Mosby on Oct 16, 2013
      @Julie Gibson Thank you Julie! It really is quite strange as even when I rub the leaves there is hardly any smell!! It was supposed to be plain plain lemon tree!! :)
  • Luis Luis on Oct 16, 2013
    I am not sure but could it be a trifoliate orange, native to central and northern China
    • Dee Mosby Dee Mosby on Oct 16, 2013
      @Luis Thank you so much, I will look that up, thank you again :)
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Oct 16, 2013
    There is a bush lemon in Australia, which I believe is the same as the rough lemon, Citrus jambhiri, and it has thick skin like that. As far as I know, all citrus trees have thorns.
    • See 3 previous
    • April E April E on Jan 20, 2014
      @Sdraughn all citrus EXCEPT for Meyers lemon and a thornless Mexican lime DO have thorns some small some large the 2 that do not have thorns were specifically bred not to have them but ALL naturally occurring citrus do
  • Stephen Andrew Stephen Andrew on Oct 16, 2013
    Do you think it could have been a lemon tree from seed rather than a properly grafted one? That could explain the odd fruit. At least it's very pretty!
  • Dee Mosby Dee Mosby on Oct 16, 2013
    ha ha Yes it is very pretty, just a shame the fruit isnt edible (no taste) , Thank you I thik you might be right :)
    • Jill Klein Jill Klein on Oct 18, 2013
      @Dee Mosby So the fruit actually has no taste? Huh! We had a tree with a fruit that looked like yours. It was probably one that your friends here were talking about. It was very sour. My stepdaughter loved eating them, though!
  • Waysouth Waysouth on Oct 17, 2013
    Dee, it's a Bush Lemon. If you Google it in images you will get some lovely pics of your gnarly old lemon
  • Dee Mosby Dee Mosby on Oct 17, 2013
    Thank you so much :) I will go google it now :)
  • Karen McLendon Karen McLendon on Oct 18, 2013
    It could be a lemon grown off a lemon tree started from seed.
  • Teri Herzog Teri Herzog on Oct 18, 2013
    I say lemon tree back in the 1970 or so my son climbed up one slipped,started to fall many of the big splinters became logged in his hand and thigh.For sure Lemon.
  • Rob Handel Rob Handel on Oct 18, 2013
    Bush lemon is supposed to have flavor, especially the zest. Maybe it's not ripe yet?
  • Gu3mom Gu3mom on Oct 18, 2013
    Evidently, most citris trees have thorns. Read: http://www.ehow.com/facts_7848723_thorny-citrus-trees.html.
  • Leona G Leona G on Oct 18, 2013
    I would say that it is a tree from the root stock which would depend on which stock was used. If you have an agricultular office they may be able to help you. If FL we would call it a sour root lemon.
  • Emma Dorsey Emma Dorsey on Oct 18, 2013
    I grow the lemon and orange trees from seed just to have beautiful plants mine all have thorns on them and I was told that even the ones in FL have thorns. It looks to me to be a lemon. I would love for my trees to produce fruit. some of them are more than 5 years old
  • Sarah Sarah on Oct 18, 2013
    If it's a bushy type of growth vs. a single trunk tree, it could be a mock orange. We had one in our yard in Texas. Big nasty thorns that would bite when you had to mow around it! I can't remember what the fruit looked like though.
  • Karen Sprenkle Karen Sprenkle on Oct 18, 2013
    My son took a seed from a orange and planted it. A tree has sprouted from the seed and it looks just like that (thorns and all). My guess would be orange.
  • Mikell Paulson Mikell Paulson on Oct 18, 2013
    Maybe a Myers Lemon that is not ripe! I am in Yuma and they are not ripe yet!
  • Andi Cacciatore Andi Cacciatore on Oct 18, 2013
    I'm a south Florida native and we called them ponderosa lemons - grown from a lemon seed rather than propagated or grafted from a true lemon tree. Thorns are a b**ch, but the juice makes good lemonade with enough sugar!
  • Dee Mosby Dee Mosby on Oct 19, 2013
    Thank you so much!! You are all so wonderful, :)
  • Dee Mosby Dee Mosby on Oct 19, 2013
    again I cant thank everyone enough!! You are all Amazing!! Thank you :)
  • Barefootyardlady Barefootyardlady on Oct 19, 2013
    What is it? This plant is probably the sturdy trunk on which others were later grafted. Looking at this fruit, we can understand why oranges were so valuable! If you wonder how to use it, I would suggest making marmalade. My sister makes some from ancient trees down on coastal Georgia. It is delicious... much like English marmalade. My grandmother used to pick branches in the early spring, put them in a vase, and stick gum drops on the thorns for an Easter decoration!
  • Dee Mosby Dee Mosby on Oct 19, 2013
    Thank you..What a great idea about Marmalade and the thorns!! ..Very cool!! :)
  • BETTY BETTY on Oct 19, 2013
    Looks like a kumquat to me.
  • Kendra Kendra on Oct 19, 2013
    Looks like our dwarf orange tree that we have. It gets beautiful white blossoms on it that have a lovely citrus smell. The fruit is not edible ... very bitter. I actually freeze the oranges, then drop one or two in the disposal to "freshen" it up. Ours is in a huge pot (it weighs about 80 lbs) & we drag it inside every year because we are in zone 6.
    • C. Denkins C. Denkins on Oct 21, 2013
      @Kendra Sounds like a kumquat....the peeling is the sweet part....you eat the whole thing......
  • Joann Joann on Oct 19, 2013
    reminds me of a dessert grapefruit. But they got huge in size, but looked just like this.
  • April E April E on Oct 19, 2013
    kumquat you just eat the whole thing skin and all
  • Thelia Sullivan Harrell Thelia Sullivan Harrell on Oct 19, 2013
    I think April is right. It is a kumquat. I think they are common in the south. You eat them whole.
  • Shelia Williams Shelia Williams on Oct 19, 2013
    My grandmother always call them a moc orange. I still have a bush that came from her big one.
  • T_jaffray T_jaffray on Oct 22, 2013
    Had a Myers lemon Tree and that looks just like the fruit a very good sweet lemon
  • Lea Grossman Lea Grossman on Jan 16, 2014
    I think it is a citron!
    • Lillian Santana Lillian Santana on Nov 01, 2014
      @Lea Grossman I, too, think it is a citron... OR a crossbreed with perhaps lemon and grapefruit?
  • Caley's Culinaries Caley's Culinaries on Jan 19, 2014
    My garden center sold hundreds of citrus trees and I'd put money on a Meyer Lemon. Kumquats are small, the size of really big grapes and orange. The leaves do indeed look like a a seed-grown orange or the root stock of a grafted tree. Citrons are not usually that smooth and round, but there is more than one kind. Meyers lemon tastes lemony and a bit like an orange, so that would be your clue. I hope you got a bunch! Lots of fun recipes! You might also want to do a search on conditions and nutrients that would make the skin that thick. Hope that helps! Good luck! You are doing really well so far!
  • Teri Tripp-Lanciault Teri Tripp-Lanciault on Oct 30, 2014
    Looks like bergamot, to me!
  • Chrystine Dimitry Chrystine Dimitry on Oct 31, 2014
    It's a lemon.
  • Rusty Avery Rusty Avery on Nov 01, 2014
    well you don't tell us how big this fruit is or the size of the plant ,tree, bush. also many citrus have thrones when young but out grow them, sometimes. also your plant does not look healthy.. You could take it to your local extension office of a local university or Master Gardener if you have them where you live. They would be glad to help you ID this fruit and plant.
  • Bracha Bracha on Aug 10, 2016
    It's an etrog