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Lemon small tree or spreading bush of the rue family (Rutaceae) and its edible fruit. The lemon forms a spreading bush or a small tree, 3–6 m (10–20 feet) high if not pruned. Its young leaves have a decidedly reddish tint; later they turn green. In some varieties, the young branches of the lemon are angular; some have sharp thorns at the axils of the leaves. The flowers have a sweet odour and are rather large, solitary or in small clusters in the axils of the leaves. Reddish-tinted in the bud, the petals are white above and reddish purple below.