Citrus australasica

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Finger lime fruits - whole and one with juice vesicles and seeds partially extracted
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Scientific classification Edit this classification
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Binomial name
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Synonyms[2]Template:R/superscript
  • Microcitrus australasica (F.Muell.) Swingle
  • Citrus australasica var. sanguinea F.M.Bailey
  • Microcitrus australasica var. sanguinea (F.M.Bailey) Swingle

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Citrus australasica, the finger lime or caviar lime, is a thorny understorey shrub or small tree of lowland subtropical rainforest in the coastal border region of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. It has edible fruits which are grown as a commercial crop.

Description

File:Citrus australasica green fruit1.JPG
Fruit on the tree

Citrus australasica is a shrub or small tree to about Template:Cvt tall with sharp spines up to Template:Cvt long in the Template:Botanygloss. The leaves are light green in colour, obovate or rhombic in shape, and arranged alternately along the twigs. They measure up to Template:Cvt wide and long, but may reach Template:Cvt long, and they may be faintly Template:Botanygloss (scalloped) towards the apex. Like many other plants in the genus, the leaves contain numerous oil glands and are aromatic when crushed.[4]Template:R/superscript[5]Template:R/superscript

The flowers are either solitary or paired and are set on peduncles about Template:Cvt long. The sepals are tiny, about Template:Cvt long, the white petals are up to Template:Cvt long. Stamens number between 20 and 25.[4]Template:R/superscript[5]Template:R/superscript

The fruit is a botanical berry, cylindrical and tapered at both ends, slightly curved and about Template:Cvt long. The skin is rough with numerous oil glands, and greenish yellow to pink. They contain numerous pale seeds about Template:Cvt long.[4]Template:R/superscript[5]Template:R/superscript[6]Template:R/superscript

File:Finger limes - size comparison.jpg
Two red finger limes, shown next to an Australian ten-cent coin (23 mm (0.91 in) diameter)

Taxonomy

This species was first described by Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, and was published in the first volume of his massive work Fragmenta phytographiæ Australiæ in 1858.[7]Template:R/superscript American botanist Walter Tennyson Swingle, in a 1915 review of the genus Citrus, placed all four Australian species in a new genus Microcitrus, based on morphological features which he said gave "[...] these plants a very different aspect from the commonly cultivated species of Citrus."[8]Template:R/superscript However, in a paper published in 1998, British botanist David Mabberley discussed the mix of morphological features present throughout the subtribe Citrineae (genera Clymenia, Eremocitrus, Fortunella, Microcitrus and Poncirus) and the ease with which species can be crossed, and subsequently restored the finger lime to Citrus.[9]Template:R/superscript

Distribution and habitat

The finger lime is native to the southeastern corner of Queensland and the northeastern corner of New South Wales, from the area around Brisbane to the Clarence River. It grows in coastal rainforest and extends into neighbouring open forest, often on soils derived from basalt. It is favoured by disturbance.[4]Template:R/superscript[5]Template:R/superscript[10]Template:R/superscript

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Conservation

As of December 2024, this species has been assessed to be of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and by the Queensland Government under its Nature Conservation Act.[3]Template:R/superscript[11]Template:R/superscript

Pests and diseases

The finger lime is susceptible to a range of insect pests, including scale insects, katydids, larvae of various moths and butterflies, some bugs, grasshoppers and others.[12]Template:R/superscript However, it is not a host to the Queensland fruit fly Bactrocera tryoni, saving Australian growers the extra burden of treatment before export.[12]Template:R/superscript

Research conducted since the 1970s indicated that a wild selection of C. australasica was highly resistant to Phytophthora citrophthora root disease, which has resulted in a cross-breeding program with finger lime to develop disease-resistant citrus rootstock. In 2020, researchers began working with C. australasica to develop solutions for Citrus greening disease.[13]

Cultivation and uses

History

File:Finger lime - juice vesicles - 01.jpg
Red finger lime with juice vesicles partially extracted

First Peoples living along the east coast of Australia used finger limes for hydration and to treat skin infections and cuts. The fruits contain the nutrients vitamin C, folate and potassium, as well as the antioxidants vitamin E and polyphenols,[14]Template:R/superscript and research has shown the efficiency of vitamin C as a treatment for bacterial infections.[15]Template:R/superscript

Early settlers consumed the fruit and retained the trees when clearing for agriculture. Colonial botanists suggested that they should be cultivated, due to the lack of citrus alternatives.[16]

Rising demand

The finger lime has been popularised as a gourmet bushfood.[12]Template:R/superscript The globular juice vesicles (also known as pearls) have been called "lime caviar",[17]Template:R/superscript[18]Template:R/superscript and can be used as a garnish or added to various recipes. The fresh vesicles have the effect of a burst of effervescent tangy flavour as they are chewed. The juice is acidic and similar to that of a lime. Marmalade and pickles are also made from finger lime. Finger lime peel can be dried and used as a spice.[6]

Commercial use of finger lime fruit started in the mid-1990s with boutique marmalades made from wild harvested fruit. By 2000 the finger lime was being sold in restaurants, and exported fresh.[6]

The finger lime is grown on a commercial basis in Australia in response to high demand for the fruit. There is an increasing range of genetic selections which are budded onto citrus rootstock. With the sudden high market demand for the fruit the primary source of genetic material for propagation has been selections from wild stock.[citation needed]

The CSIRO has also developed several Citrus hybrids by crossing the finger lime with standard Citrus species, creating cultivars which produce finger limes in many different colours ranging from light pink to deep blue-green. Finger lime is thought to have the widest range of colour variation within any Citrus species.[19]Template:R/superscript

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References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Citrus australasica". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Citrus australasica F.Muell". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b Template:Cite iucn
  4. ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mabberley, D.J. (2022). Kodela, P.G. (ed.). "Citrus australasica". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."PlantNET - FloraOnline". PlantNET (The NSW Plant Information Network System). Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Koskinen, Jorma. "Native Australian and New Guinean citrus". Citrus Pages. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mueller, Ferdinand von (1858). Fragmenta phytographiæ Australiæ (in Latina). Vol. I. Melbourne: Joannis Ferres. p. 26. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Swingle, W.T. (1915). "Microcitrus, a new genus of Australian citrous fruits". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 5: 569–578.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mabberley, D.J. (1998). "Australian Citreae with notes on other Aurantioideae (Rutaceae)". Telopea. 7 (4): 333–344. doi:10.7751/telopea19982004.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Search: species: Citrus australasica | Occurrence records". Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Australian Government. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Species profile—Citrus australasica". Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government. 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hawkeswood, T.J. (2017). "A review of some publications concerning Citrus (Microcitrus) australasica F. Muell. (Rutaceae) in Australia and South-east Asia (mostly Thailand)". Calodema. 581: 1–14. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Allen, Greg (27 July 2020). "Exotic Australian Fruit May Help Save Florida's Citrus Industry". NPR. National Public Radio. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Noone, Yasmin. "Finger limes taste sensational, but what makes them good for you?". SBS Food. Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Nagoba, B. S.; Gandhi, R. C.; Wadher, B. J.; Potekar, R. M.; Kolhe, S. M. (2008). "Microbiological, histopathological and clinical changes in chronic infected wounds after citric acid treatment". Journal of Medical Microbiology. 57 (5): 681–682. doi:10.1099/jmm.0.47647-0. PMID 18436609.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Low, Tim (1998). Wild Food Plants of Australia. Sydney: Angus & Robertson Publishers. p. 69. ISBN 0-207-16930-6.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Karp, David (23 December 2009). "Finger lime: the caviar of citrus". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 31 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Taylor, Terri. "Nature's 'Little Pearls', The Exotic Finger Lime". Tambourine Mountain Daily Star. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Novel Australian Finger Lime Varieties". CSIRO. 2024. Archived from the original on 16 January 2025. Retrieved 26 March 2025.

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