Persian lime

Ordinary lime

The Common Lime (Citrus × latifolia ), mostly Persian lime or Tahitian Lime named after its origin, is a citrus fruit.

Origin

Lime thrive mainly in subtropical and tropical regions of the earth where the fruits are mostly used instead of lemon. In the Middle Ages the fruit with the Crusaders to Italy and from there came initially to France and Spain.

Description

The evergreen, tree-like shrub is about 5 to 6 feet tall. It is reinforced on the branches up to 1 cm long spines. The leaves are dark green with a slight petiole outflanking, 6-7 × 10-13 cm large leaf blade ( latifolius = broadleaf ). The leaf margin is cut slightly. The flowers are white, four or five petals, about 3 inches in diameter and are several in the leaf axils.

The bush also contributes in pot culture every year many aromatic fruits and does not require pollination, as it tackles its fruit parthenocarpic ( jungfernfrüchtig ). The maturation period (March to December) is much shorter than the lemon.

The fruit has a green shell, which is pale yellow when fully ripe. It measures about 5 inches in diameter and has acidic pulp, which is divided into 9-11 segments. In contrast to other citrus fruit can be cut only with difficulty or not at all peeled and cut into segments. The color of the flesh is a pale green at all limes. It is almost always seedless, because it forms a sterile ovules due to its tetraploid chromosome set.

Use

Like the real lime it is mainly used for the extraction of juice and essential oils. Known drinks on the basis of limes are Caipirinha, Daiquiri and Mojito.

Documents

  • Walter T. Swingle, Philip C. Reece (1967 ): The Botany of Citrus and Its Wild Relatives. In: W. Reuther, HJ Webber, LD Batchelor (eds.): The Citrus Industry. Vol 1, University of California.
  • Bernhard Voss (1997): Citrus plants from Tropical to Hardy. Humbach & Nemazal, ISBN 3-9805521-3-6
  • Bernhard Voss (2005): Citrus plants. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH, ISBN 3-440-10174-6
  • Hans -Peter Maier ( 2006): Citrus plants. Grafe and Dead Ringers, ISBN 3-7742-8839-9
Genus Species
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