Australian lime
Australian limes are species of the plant genus Citrus that are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.
These species were formerly included in the genera Microcitrus and Eremocitrus.<ref name=Lindsay>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="APNI">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="APNI2">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=CSIRO>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=factsheet>Template:Cite web</ref>
Species include:
Template:Clade <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Species from Australia
Natural species
- Citrus australasica (Finger lime), a species from rainforest regions of northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland with elongated yellow-green to purple fruits.
Finger lime - Citrus australis (Round lime or Dooja), a species from south-eastern Australia with round, green fruits
- Citrus glauca (Desert lime), from arid areas of inland Australia. Small round fruits are produced in summer.
Desert lime - Citrus garrawayi, (Mount White lime) is rare and endemic to the Cook District of Cape York Peninsula.
- Citrus gracilis (Kakadu lime or Humpty Doo lime) grows in eucalypt woodland in the Northern Territory<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=factsheet/> and was first described in the scientific literature in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Citrus inodora (Russell River lime or large-leaf Australian wild lime) is rare, and endemic to northern Queensland.<ref name=factsheet/>
- Citrus maideniana (Maiden's Australian wild lime)<ref name=factsheet/> may be a subspecies of C. inodora.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cultivars
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.<ref name=CSIRO2>Template:Cite web</ref> Grafted standards are available for some varieties.<ref name=Lindsay /> The cultivars include:
- 'Australian Outback' (or 'Australian Desert'), developed from several desert lime varieties
- 'Australian Red Centre' (or 'Australian Blood' or Blood LimeTemplate:Citation needed), a cross of finger lime<ref name=imageref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a mandarin-lemon or mandarin-sweet orange hybrid
- 'Australian Sunrise', a hybrid cross of finger lime and a calomondin which is pear shaped and orange inside
- 'Rainforest Pearl', a pink-fruited form of finger lime from Bangalow, New South Wales
- 'Sunrise Lime ', parentage unknown<ref name=imageref/>
- 'Outback Lime', a desert lime cultivar<ref name=imageref/>
Species from Papua New Guinea
- Citrus warburgiana (Kakamadu or New Guinea wild lime)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite web</ref> grows on the south coast of the Papuan Peninsula near Alotau<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> (pictures).
- Citrus wakonai (also locally called kakamadu)<ref name="ReferenceA" /> has been reported from Goodenough Island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Citrus wintersii, also known as Citrus papuana (Brown River finger lime)<ref name="auto"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> has, as the name suggests, a small, thin fruit, pointed at both ends (pictures, more pictures). It grows near Port Moresby.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Clymenia sp. are native to the Bismarck Archipelago but are cultivated in other areas. Clymenia is now often considered to belong within the citrus genus.<ref name="AGLthesis">Template:Cite thesis</ref>
- Clymenia platypoda
- Clymenia polyandra has a lemon-sized round fruit, pointed at one end (pictures).
Citrus species in Papua New Guinea have not been extensively studied, so the true number of species is unknown.
Identification
An identification key Template:Webarchive (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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>