 Australian Native Foods
Plant Profiles
Citrus
Common Names & Species:
- Desert Lime (Citrus glauca), Finger Lime (Citrus australasica) and Round Lime (Citrus australis).
- ‘Rainforest Pearl' PBR Finger lime - a selection of Citrus australasica var. sanguinea
- ‘Australian Blood Lime' PBR – (hybrid of Australian finger lime and Rangpur lime, Citrus australasica var. sanguinea X Citrus x limonia).
- ‘Australian Sunrise Lime' PBR lime (hybrid) (Citrus australasica X [Fortunella sp. x Citrus reticulata 'Calamondin']).
- ‘Australian Outback Lime' PBR, selection of Citrus glauca.
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Desert Lime |
Finger Lime |
Family:
Rutaceae.
Native To:
- Desert Lime - Queensland and New South Wales, west of a line running from Rockhampton to Dubbo, with some isolated occurrences in central South Australia.
- Finger Lime - rainforests in southern Qld and northern NSW.
- Round Lime - rainforest margins of southeast Qld, from Brisbane northwards.
- ‘Australian Blood' PBR lime is a hybrid produced by open pollination, from a cross between an Ellendale Mandarin (a mandarin and orange hybrid) and a seedling form of the Australian Finger lime (Citrus australasica var. sanguinea).
- ‘Australian Sunrise' PBR lime is a hybrid from an open pollinated seedling selected from a Faustrimedin, which is a hybrid of the finger lime with the calamondin; itself a hybrid between the cumquat and a variety of the mandarin group (Citrus reticulata).
>> Virtual Herbarium Habit:
- Desert Lime: tree to 2 - 4 m, bearing small green to yellow coloured fruit.
- Finger Lime: tree to 10 m, bearing oblong green to yellow fruit.
- Round Lime: tree 3 - 10 m, with rough skinned, green to yellow fruit.
- ‘Rainforest Pearl' finger lime: open, upright small tree to 3 m, bearing yellow-green fruit with red pulp at maturity.
- Blood Lime: tree to 2 - 2.5 m, with small, red-fleshed fruit.
- Sunrise Lime: tree to 2 – 4 m, bearing small yellow pear shaped fruit.
>> PIRSA fact sheet
Part Used:
Fruit.
Flavour:
Strong and distinctive citrus flavour.
Food Use:
For distinctive but recognisably citrus flavour in sweet and savoury products.
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Blood Lime |
Sunrise Lime |
Current Retail Product Categories:
Jams & conserves, dipping sauces, simmer sauces.
Food Quality & Safety Issues:
Currently there is no industry-wide product description or quality standards developed or published for this crop, though individual market channel groups are likely to be working to in-house standards
Crop collection, production and handling systems will eventually require the implementation of HACCP-based food safety systems. Wild harvested sources may have difficulty in some areas of these systems, such as product traceability requirements.
Wild Harvest/Cultivated Supplies:
Most fruit is still sourced from the wild, although commercial cultivation is now in progress.
Wild Harvest Locations:
Southwest Qld, northwest NSW (Desert Lime). North coast NSW, southern Qld (Round & Finger Limes).
Cultivation Locations:
Riverland, South Australia, Roma Qld (Desert Lime). North coast NSW, southern Qld (Round & Finger Limes).
Approx Wholesale ('Farm Gate') Prices:
Desert Lime: whole frozen $13/kg.
Blood Lime: whole frozen $24/kg.
Finger Lime: whole, frozen first grade $30 – 60/kg, 2nd grade $12-15/kg.
Sunrise Lime: whol, frozen $10/kg
Current Volumes Traded:
Desert Limes: In the order of 10-15 tonnes per annum.
Round & Finger Limes: In the order of 1-3 tonnes per annum.
PBR details (Plant Varieties Journal)
Plant Varieties Journal - online
- Vol 15, Issue 2
- Vol 15, Issue 4
Other Links
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