W h at is a Lemon A lemon is the fruit of a lemon tree Lemons have a strong smell and a strong taste Lemons are used to flavor food such as lemon sorbet and lemon meringue pie and the juice is often squeezed over fish and into salad dressings Lemons have a clean fresh smell They are used to scent soaps shampoos dish soap and other household products 6 Lemon juice is used to flavor the fish and the cake and it makes the dish soap smell fresh Lemon trees Lemons oranges grapefruit and limes are different kinds of citrus fruits Citrus trees grow between 16 50 feet 5 15 m tall and have sharp spines along their twigs They are evergreens and grow best in hot places They flower in spring and the fruit grows and ripens during summer and autumn The fruit from the previous year may still be on the tree when the flowers open
E x a mine a Lem o n You will need A lemon A knife A plate or cutting board A teaspoon Rind 1 Flesh Cut a lemon in half Look for the outer rind and the white pith The pips are the seeds Look for them inside the juicy flesh Pith 2 Smell the rind and the flesh Which smells stronger Seed 3 Put some of the flesh onto a clean teaspoon and taste it Is it sweet salty sour or bitter 7
G r o wingaLemon T r e e Plant some lemon seeds and watch them grow into small plants It may take several weeks before the seeds begin to grow so you will have to be patient You will need 3 or 4 lemon seeds A clear plastic cup A corkscrew or large screw or nail Potting soil see Tip A saucer Water Squared paper a ruler and pencil 1 Soak the seeds in water for a few days Make several holes with the corkscrew in the bottom of the cup Ask an adult to help you 2 Fill the cup about two thirds full with compost Water the compost well Plant the seeds by pushing them about 0 4 0 8 inches 1 2 cm into the soil around the edge of the cup Make sure you can see the seeds through the side of the cup Seed Tip The lemon seeds will grow best in acidic lime-free soil You can buy it from a garden store 3 Put the cup in a warm place on a sunny windowsill or near a radiator Water the seeds every few days and wait 8
4 Watch carefully When the seeds begin to sprout they will grow quite fast Which part of the plant grows first 5 Make a chart to show how tall each plant is one day two days and so on after it starts to grow n i t h g i e H 5 4 4 5 3 3 5 2 2 5 1 1 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Days What happened Food store A seed begins to grow when it is warm and damp At first the tiny plant used the store of food inside the seed itself Then the roots took in water and nutrients from the soil or compost The leaves made food for the plant Seed coa t Plant embryo 9
