1. The key lime originated in southern Asia and was spread by Arabs through trade to North Africa, Europe, and the Americas where it became popular in Florida and the Caribbean. 2. In the 16th century, limes were cultivated in southern Florida and by the 19th century were being commercially grown. 3. There are several varieties of Australian native limes as well as many hybrids being developed for their unique flavors and colors.

2. Lime Varities in The
World
By
Allah Dad Khan

3. Origin
• The Key lime originated neither in the Florida
keys nor Mexico, but in southern Asia’s Indo-
Malayan region. It was unknown in Europe
before the Crusades and it is assumed to have
been carried to North Africa and the Near East
by Arabs, across North Africa into Spain and
Portugal. It was brought by European
Crusaders from Palestine to the
Mediterranean countries.

4. History
• In the mid-13th century, the lime was cultivated and well-
known in Italy and probably also in France. It was taken to
the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the
early part of the 16th century where it became naturalized
in southern Florida, parts of the West Indies, Mexico and
other Caribbean countries (it was reportedly commonly
grown in Haiti in 1520). Hence, the name Key lime is from
the Florida Keys. While there is no documentation of the
date of entry to Florida, the tree was popular in yards of
private homes. In 1839, cultivation of limes in southern
Florida was reported to be “increasing.” By 1883 it was
being grown commercially on a small scale in Orange and
Lake Counties

5. Australian desert lime (Citrus glauca)
• There are three principal
Australian limes, the Australian
desert lime (Citrus glauca), which
has been cultivated as the
outback lime (shown at right);
Australian finger lime (Citrus
australasica); and Australian
round lime (Citrus australis). The
desert lime, a highly prized
bushfood used for marmalades,
beverages and glacéed fruit, was
typically gathered wild, and has a
strong lime-like flavor.
Commercial cultivation had
begun.

6. Australian finger lime (Citrus australasica)
• Australian finger lime (Citrus
australasica); The finger lime
is long and cylindrical, and fell
into vogue as a gourmet
bushfood for pickles,
maramalade and garnishes. It
doesn’t look like anything we’d
call a lime, and grows in a
variety of colors including
black, brown, green, orange,
purple, red and yellow. There
is much hybridization of limes
happening in Australia,
including the blood lime

7. Australian round lime (Citrus australis)
• Citrus australis (Round
Lime or Dooja), a
species from south-
eastern Australia with
round, green fruits

8. Blood lime (red finger lime x (sweet orange x
mandarin) )
• Blood Lime. The blood lime is a
hybrid citrus fruit developed in
Australia, a cross between the red
finger lime (Citrus australasica
var. sanguinea) and the Ellendale
Mandarin, a mandarin and
orange hybrid (some sources site
this as the Rangpur lime, Citrus x
limonia), which has an orange
rind and pulp. The tree, which
can also be planted as an
ornamental tree, produces
striking, blood red-colored fruit. It
is smaller than most limes, and
like the blood orange, somewhat
sweeter.

9. Kaffir Lime
• Kieffer Lime Leaf and Peel(Bai
Ma-gkood, PewMa-gkrood)
The following is from an
extraordinary book by Kasma
Loha-unchit, It Rains Fishes:
Legends, Traditions and the
Joys of Thai Cooking,
published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. The widely
distributed book contains
bright watercolors punctuating
tempting recipes and tales of
life in ruralThailand

10. Key Lime or Mexican Lime
• Small, sometime seedy
fruit with genuine
tropical flavor year-
round. Frost sensitive.

11. Thornless Mexican Lime
• A pain free version of
the Mexican (Key) Lime,
the traditional
pungently flavored lime
preferred for Key Lime
pie and certain Mexican
drinks

12. Mexican Sweet Lime
• Round, thin-skinned
fruit is sweet, juicy and
nearly acidless.

13. Musk Lime
• Musk Lime (Citrus x
Citrofortunella mitis). Also known
as the Chinese, or China, orange;
Panama orange; golden lime;
scarlet lime; in the Philippines,
kalamondin, kalamunding,
kalamansi, calamansi, limonsito,
or agridulce; Malayan names
include limau chuit and limau
kesturi (“musk lime”); in Thailand,
ma-nao-wan. Wedges are served
with iced tea, seafood and meats,
and were commonly served in
Florida before limes became
widely cultivated. The calmondin,
with acidic juice, has wide
culinary use.

14. Persian Lime
• It is believed that the
Persian/Tahitian lime was
introduced into the
Mediterranean region by way of
Persia (the modern Iran).
Portuguese traders probably
carried it to Brazil, and apparently
arrived in Australia from Brazil
about 1824. It reached California
by way of Tahiti between 1850
and 1880 and had arrived in
Florida by 1883, the same year
that Key limes, which had arrived
much earlier, were increasing in
cultivation. In Florida, the
Tahitian quickly took the place of
the more sensitive Key lime.

15. Palestine Sweet Lime
• Round, medium-sized
juicy yellow fruit. Has less
sugar and acid than the
Bearss Lime. Similar to
sweet limes from Mexico,
which also originated
from the Mediterranean.
With its mild flavor and
few seeds, it makes a
refreshing, cooling drink.

16. Rangpur lime
• Rangpur Lime
• Tart reddish orange fruit
is used like lime, although
it is a sour Mandarin from
India. The overlap of
prolific fruit and purple
tinged blooms make this
a wonderful ornamental
tree. Popular in mixed
drinks or simply sliced for
ice tea.

17. Spanish lime
• Spanish Lime (Melicoccus
bijugatus). This fruit has many
other names, depending on
the country in which it grows:
chenet, genip, ginep, ginnip,
gnep, guaya, quenepa, guinep,
kenèp, limoncillo, mamón,
mamoncillo and skinnip. It is
not a citrus, but a fruit tree in
the soapberry
family, Sapindaceae. It is
native to a wide area of the
American tropics including the
Caribbean, Central America,
Colombia, Venezuela and
Surinam

18. Sweet Lime
• Sweet Lime or Limetta (Citrus
limetta). This fruit, native to
Eurasia and North Africa, is also
cultivated in the Mediterranean
region. It goes by many names,
including Mediterranean sweet
lemon, sweet lemon, and sweet
lime and sweet limetta. In India, it
is known as mosambi, mousambi
or musamb. The fruit is edible,
and contains essential oils; the
tree is used for ornamental
purposes. Sweet limes are
thought to be a cross between
Mexican limes and sweet lemons.

19. Mary Ellen Sweet Lime
• Adult trees have
spreading habit with
bright green foliage,
and produce white
flowers. Fruits are small
with pale greenish rinds
at maturity.

20. Limequats
• Limequats such as 'Eustis', 'Lakeland'
and 'Tavares' are hybrids between
Mexican lime and kumquat. The fruit
closely resembles Mexican lime and
the trees are somewhat more cold
hardy than limes--though not nearly
so hardy as kumquats.

21. Wild Lime (Adelia ricinella).
• The wild lime is not a
citrus, but a flowering
shrub. While called
“wild,” it is cultivated
outdoors as well
indoors, as a
houseplant

22. West Indian Lime (C. aurantifolia):
•
This small-fruited lime has
excellent fruit quality and is
the main processing variety
throughout the world. At
present it is not cultivated
because its small size makes
harvesting costly. It is very
cold-sensitive and is also
very susceptible to tristeza
virus. Currently it is used as
an indicator plant for this
virus.