Australian finger lime facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Australian finger lime |
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| Green skin type finger lime | |
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| Genus: |
Citrus
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| Species: |
australasica
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The Australian finger lime, also known as the caviar lime, is a special plant from Australia. It's a thorny bush or a small tree that grows in the rainforests of Queensland and New South Wales.
This plant produces unique edible fruits. These fruits are becoming very popular around the world.
Some scientists, like Walter Tennyson Swingle, believe it belongs to a group of plants related to Citrus, called Microcitrus.
Contents
What is the Australian Finger Lime Like?
This plant can grow to be about 2 to 7 meters (6 to 23 feet) tall. Its leaves are small, usually 1 to 6 centimeters long. They are smooth and have a slightly notched tip.
The flowers are white and their petals are about 6 to 9 millimeters long. The fruit is shaped like a cylinder, about 4 to 8 centimeters (1.5 to 3 inches) long. It can be straight or slightly curved. Finger limes come in different colors, including pink and green.
How are Finger Limes Grown and Used?
The History of Finger Limes
Long ago, early settlers in Australia ate these fruits. They often kept the trees when they cleared land for farming. Botanists, who are plant scientists, even suggested that people should grow them on purpose.
Why are Finger Limes So Popular Now?
Recently, the finger lime has become a very popular "bushfood." Bushfood refers to native Australian foods. The tiny, round juice parts inside the fruit are called "pearls." They look a lot like "lime caviar."
These pearls are often used to decorate food or added to different recipes. When you bite into them, they burst with a tangy, fizzy flavor. The juice itself is quite sour, similar to a regular lime.
People also make marmalade and pickles from finger limes. The peel of the fruit can even be dried and used as a spice to add flavor.
Commercial use of finger limes began in the mid-1990s. Small companies started making special marmalades from fruits collected in the wild. By the year 2000, finger limes were being sold in restaurants and exported fresh to other countries.
Today, finger limes are grown on farms in Australia because so many people want them. Farmers often graft them onto other citrus plants to help them grow better. Many of the plants used for growing come from wild finger lime trees.
Protecting Finger Lime Plants from Diseases
Growing finger limes is similar to growing other citrus fruits. Like any plant, they can get pests and diseases. Farmers might need to control things like scale insects, caterpillars, and gall wasps. Sometimes, parts of the plant can also die back.
Scientists have studied fruit flies and found that finger limes do not host them. This means finger limes are not a risk for spreading fruit flies to other countries.
Research since the 1970s showed that some wild finger lime plants were very good at fighting off a root disease called Phytophthora citrophthora. Because of this, scientists have cross-bred finger limes with other citrus plants. This helps create new citrus plants that are resistant to diseases. In 2020, researchers started using finger limes to find ways to fight Citrus greening disease.
The CSIRO, a big science agency in Australia, has also created new citrus plants. They crossed finger limes with regular citrus species. These new plants, called hybrids, produce finger limes in many different colors. These colors range from light pink to deep blue-green.
Finger limes are thought to have the most color variety of any citrus plant. The tiny juice pearls inside can be pale lime-green, pale pink, coral, or even bright scarlet.
See also
In Spanish: Lima dedo para niños
