# Why do citrus fruits sometimes have more seeds than others?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-citrus-fruits-sometimes-have-more-seeds-than-others/332633>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 25, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-citrus-fruits-sometimes-have-more-seeds-than-others/332633 "2005-11-25T00:15:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-citrus-fruits-sometimes-have-more-seeds-than-others/332633/1 "2005-11-25T00:15:44Z")

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I like lemons. I like to cut them up and eat them with a little salt.

Sometimes I’ll get a lemon than might have 1-2 seeds. Other times I’ll get one that has a dozen or more.

What causes this?

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**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-citrus-fruits-sometimes-have-more-seeds-than-others/332633/2 "2005-11-25T00:26:12Z")

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Some are sterile hybrids grown from grafting.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-citrus-fruits-sometimes-have-more-seeds-than-others/332633/3 "2005-11-25T15:48:07Z")

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Is there any way to tell which are which just by looking at them?

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**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-citrus-fruits-sometimes-have-more-seeds-than-others/332633/4 "2005-11-26T01:39:55Z")

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> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#):
>
> Is there any way to tell which are which just by looking at them?

There wouldn’t be a way to tell unless you knew what cultivar the lemon was. Some Lemon cultivars are seedier that others.

If you have your own lemon tree and you also have a tangerine tree (a seedy cultivar like ‘Dancy’), the bees could bring over some of the tangerine pollen to the flowers on the lemon tree and you might get seedier lemons.