22.lime varities in the world By Allah Dad Khan

Lime Varities in The World

By Allah Dad Khan

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.

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

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.

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

Australian round lime (Citrus australis)

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

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.

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

Key Lime or Mexican Lime

• Small, sometime seedy fruit with genuine tropical flavor year-round. Frost sensitive.

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

Mexican Sweet Lime

• Round, thin-skinned fruit is sweet, juicy and nearly acidless.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.