Bugnetta Lemon

In 1818 the naturalists Antonio Risso and Antoine Poiteau in their Histoire naturelle des Orangers provide a detailed description of the fruit of the Bignetta lemon: globular or oval in shape, with a slightly umbonate apex, fairly smooth skin and has an acidic pulp. The leaves are oval-oblong in shape, pointed, serrated and of a beautiful green, borne on short non-winged petioles. The first documented testimony in the Ligurian territory of Bugnetta is obtained from a bill of lading dated 1749 which reads of the shipment from
santo Stefano al Mare beach, in the province of Imperia, towards Hamburg, with boxes «of sweet oranges and dry Bugnette lemons, well seasoned, and marked as outside»
Giorgio Gallesio in 1813 argued that Bugnetta was the dominant variety throughout the Genoese coast up to Nice. Its great diffusion in gardens is also confirmed by the aforementioned Risso and Poiteau which note its presence along the northern border
from the Mediterranean, they underline that the fruit is very resistant to long journeys as it does not ferment and does not deteriorate. The variety has a high productivity, as reported by a specialized magazine of the early twentieth century where it is attested that a Bugnetta plant can produce 300 fruits in favorable years and even 1,000-1,500 in exceptional years.