This is a plant that my friend Etta Daher had in her yard. When she moved the tree was to large for me to try to transplant to my yard so I gathered a few fruits from the ground. These were fruits from the previous year so I was not even sure they were still any good. I opened the fruits that had large white seeds in them. I planted the seeds and forgot all about them. Yesterday I was weeding and found out that they are growing. I was told they were not edible but have discovered that they can bee eaten. They can be used in a marmalade and they can be juiced. The flavor is supposed to be bitter and sour. Cooking the fruits and adding sugar is supposed to change the taste to be like a cross between a lemon and a grapefruit. The trees are supposed to grow from about 6 to 20 feet tall and are covered with long sharp thorns. The thorns are actually hard enough to puncture a tire. It can take up to 12 years for the trees to produce fruit. They are not native but have naturalized in Pennsylvania south to Florida. I will have to move them to an area outside of my wildlife habitat, but look forward to seeing them eventually fruit. Maybe one day I will even attempt to make some of the marmalade. This is also supposed to be a good plant for bonsai.
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