Australian lime

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The Australian Outback Lime, a cultivar of the desert lime (C. glauca) CSIRO ScienceImage 3400 The Australian Outback Lime.jpg
The Australian Outback Lime, a cultivar of the desert lime (C. glauca)

Australian limes are species of the plant genus Citrus that are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Contents

These species were formerly included in the genera Microcitrus and Eremocitrus. [1] [2] [3] They have been used as a food source by indigenous Australians and Indigenous New Guineans as well as early settlers and are used in modern Australian cuisine, including marmalade and sauces. [4] [5]

Species include:

Australian limes
former  Eremocitrus

Citrus glauca

former  Microcitrus

Citrus warburgiana

Citrus inodora

Citrus maideniana

Citrus garrawayi

Citrus australasica

Citrus australis

[6]

Species from Australia

Natural species

Cultivars

Blood Lime (biggest, red), Sunrise Lime (orange, pear-shaped) and the Outback Lime, a small, green cultivar of the desert lime CSIRO ScienceImage 3592 New lime varieties bred from native Australian limes.jpg
Blood Lime (biggest, red), Sunrise Lime (orange, pear-shaped) and the Outback Lime, a small, green cultivar of the desert lime

A number of cultivars have been developed in recent years. These can be grafted on to standard citrus rootstocks. They may be grown as ornamental trees in the garden or in containers. [10] Grafted standards are available for some varieties. [1] The cultivars include:

Species from Papua New Guinea

Citrus species in Papua New Guinea have not been extensively studied, so the true number of species is unknown.

Identification

An identification key Archived 2009-10-02 at the Wayback Machine (p. 6 or 338) exists for the known Australian limes (not including species from Papua New Guinea). The leaves of some species broaden dramatically with age. [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>Citrus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus Citrus is native to South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and Australia. Various citrus species have been used and domesticated by indigenous cultures in these areas since ancient times. From there its cultivation spread into Micronesia and Polynesia by the Austronesian expansion ; and to the Middle East and the Mediterranean via the incense trade route, and onwards to Europe and the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandarin orange</span> Small citrus fruit

The mandarin orange, also known as mandarin or mandarine, is a small, rounded citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Tangerines are a group of orange-coloured citrus fruit consisting of hybrids of mandarin orange with some pomelo contribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lime (fruit)</span> Citrus fruit

A lime is a citrus fruit, which is typically round, green in color, 3–6 centimetres (1.2–2.4 in) in diameter, and contains acidic juice vesicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodenough Island</span> Island in Papua New Guinea

Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea, also known as Nidula Island, is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and southwest of the Trobriand Islands. It is roughly circular in shape, measuring 39 by 26 kilometres with an area of 687 square kilometres (265 sq mi) and a shoreline of 116 kilometres (72 mi). From a coastal belt varying in width from 2 to 10 kilometres in width, the island rises sharply to the summit of Mount Vineuo, 2,536 metres (8,320 ft) above sea level, making it one of the most precipitous islands in the world. The small outlier Wagifa Island lies to the south-east of the island, and is included within Goodenough's administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bush tucker</span> Food used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians

Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and historically eaten by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora, fauna, or funga used for culinary or medicinal purposes, regardless of the continent or culture. Animal native foods include kangaroo, emu, witchetty grubs and crocodile, and plant foods include fruits such as quandong, kutjera, spices such as lemon myrtle and vegetables such as warrigal greens and various native yams.

<i>Citrus australasica</i> Citrus fruit

Citrus australasica, the Australian finger lime or caviar lime, is a thorny understorey shrub or small tree of lowland subtropical rainforest and rainforest in the coastal border region of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia.

<i>Citrus glauca</i> Species of plant

Citrus glauca, commonly known as the desert lime, is a thorny shrub or small tree native to Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records common names native kumquat and desert lemon.

<i>Citrus australis</i> Species of shrub

Citrus australis, the Dooja, round lime, Australian lime or Australian round lime, is a large shrub or small tree producing an edible fruit. It grows in forest margins in the Beenleigh area and northwards, in Queensland, Australia.

Musa maclayi is a species of seeded banana native to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It is placed in section Callimusa. It is regarded as one of the progenitors of the Fe'i banana cultivars.

Clymenia is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae with two species. The genus is often included in Citrus.

The micrantha is a wild citrus from the papeda group, native to southern Philippines, particularly islands of Cebu and Bohol. Two varieties are recognized: small-flowered papeda, locally known as biasong, and small-fruited papeda or samuyao.

<i>Citrus garrawayi</i> Species of tree

Citrus garrawayi, the Mount White lime, is a tree native to the Cape York region of northern Queensland in Australia. It is an understory tree in tropical rainforests.

<i>Citrus inodora</i> Species of tree

Citrus inodora or Microcitrus inodora, commonly known as Russell River lime or large leaf Australian wild lime, is a tree native to the Bellenden-Ker Range in northern Queensland, Australia.

Citrus wintersii, the Brown River finger lime, is a shrub native to the Brown River region in Papua-New Guinea. It was previously known as Microcitrus papuana. It has, as the "finger" name suggests, a small, thin fruit, pointed at both ends. It grows near Port Moresby.

Citrus warburgiana. the kakamadu or New Guinea wild lime, grows on the south coast of the Papuan Peninsula near Alotau in Papua-New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumia (citrus)</span> Citrus hybrid

The lumia is also called the pear lemon, since its shape resembles a pear. It is also called French lime and sometimes sweet lemon, even though it is not necessarily sweet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citrus taxonomy</span> Botanical classification of the genus Citrus

Citrus taxonomy refers to the botanical classification of the species, varieties, cultivars, and graft hybrids within the genus Citrus and related genera, found in cultivation and in the wild.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalpi (fruit)</span> Citrus fruit and plant

Kalpi is a natural citrus hybrid native to Philippines and is today one of the most common lemons in Hawaii, and is sometimes called 'Malayan lemon'.

Citrus longispina is an unusual sweet lime-like citrus that has been classed as a papeda.

'Encore' mandarin is a citrus cultivar.

References

  1. 1 2 Lindsay, Lenore. "Australian Limes". Australian Plants Online. Australian Native Plants Society (Australia). Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
  2. "Eremocitrus". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  3. "Microcitrus". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  4. "Taming Wild Limes". Ecos Magazine. CSIRO publishing (107). 2001.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Australian native citrus-wild species, cultivars and hybrids" (PDF). Primary Industries and Resources SA. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
  6. Jorma Koskinen and Sylvain Jousse. "Citrus Pages / Native Australian varieties". free.fr.
  7. Jorma Koskinen and Sylvain Jousse. "Citrus Pages / Native Australian varieties". free.fr.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Jorma Koskinen and Sylvain Jousse. "Citrus Pages / Native Australian varieties". free.fr.
  10. "From the outback to 'out the back'". CSIRO. 12 August 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
  11. 1 2 3 "CSIRO Science Image - CSIRO Science Image".
  12. Jorma Koskinen and Sylvain Jousse. "Citrus Pages / Native Australian varieties". free.fr.
  13. 1 2 Paul I. Forster; Malcolm W. Smith. "Citrus wakonai P.I. Forst & M.W. Sm. (Rutaceae), a new species from Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Homecitrusgrowers.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  14. 1 2 Mike Saalfeld. "Citrus wakonai". Homecitrusgrowers.co.uk.
  15. Mike Saalfeld. "The_Quest_for_Wakonai page19". Homecitrusgrowers.co.uk.
  16. Jorma Koskinen; Sylvain Jousse. "Citrus Pages / Native Australian varieties". Citruspages.free.fr.
  17. "Microcitrus papuana". Homecitrusgrowers.co.uk.
  18. Andrés García Lor (2013). Organización de la diversidad genética de los cítricos (PDF) (Thesis). p. 79.
  19. "microcitrus – mature and juvenile leaf forms". freeserve.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.