Citrus australasica 5764810 225777946 2008-07-15T10:31:07Z John Moss 1678292 {{Taxobox | name = Finger Lime | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Magnoliopsida]] | ordo = [[Sapindales]] | familia = [[Rutaceae]] | genus = ''[[Citrus]]'' | species = '''''C. australasica''''' | binomial = ''Citrus australasica'' | binomial_authority = [[F. Muell.]] | image = Citrus_australasica_red_whole.jpg | image_caption = A whole red finger lime }} The '''Finger Lime''' plant, ''Citrus australasica'' (formerly ''Microcitrus australasica'') is a thorny [[understorey]] [[shrub]] of the lowland subtropical [[rainforests]] of Eastern [[Australia]]. Although there is no documentation that finger lime was traditionally eaten by [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] people, it's possible that indigenous use was not observed or recorded by European settlers. Early non-indigenous settlers consumed the fruit and retained the trees when clearing for agriculture. The finger lime has been recently popularised as a gourmet [[bushfood]]. The cylindrical fruit has globular [[vesicles]], likened to a "caviar lime", which can be used as a garnish or added to various recipes. The fresh vesicles have the effect of a burst of effervescent tangy flavour as they are chewed. [[Marmalade]] and [[pickles]] are also made from finger lime. The finger lime peel can be dried and used as a flavouring [[spice]]. Commercial use of finger lime fruit started in the mid-1990s in boutique marmalades made from wild harvested fruit. By 2000 the finger lime was being sold in restaurants, including the export of fresh fruit. There is a wide range of different coloured variants of finger lime fruit, including green, yellow, orange, red, purple, black and brown. Finger lime is thought to have the widest range of colour variation within any ''[[Citrus]]'' species. The finger lime has been recently grown on a commercial basis in Australia in response to high demand for the fruit. There is an increasing range of genetic selections which are budded onto ''Citrus'' rootstock. With the sudden high market demand for the fruit the primary source of genetic material for propagation has been selections from wild stock. In cultivation, the finger lime plant is grown in much the same way as other citrus species. It may be subject to some pests and diseases requiring pest control in cropping situations. This includes scale, caterpillars, gall-wasp, and limb dieback. Research conducted in the 1970s indicated that a wild selection of ''C. australasica'' was highly resistant to ''[[Phytophthora]] citrophthora'' root disease, which has resulted in a cross-breeding program with finger lime to develop disease-resistant citrus [[rootstock]]. The [[CSIRO]] has also developed several ''Citrus'' hybrids by crossing the finger lime with standard ''Citrus'' species. ==External links== * CSIRO plant profiles [http://www.cse.csiro.au/research/nativefoods/crops/citrus.htm] * [http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/bushfood/fingerlime.htm Australian Finger Lime] ==References== * Low, Tim, ''Wild Food Plants of Australia'', ISBN 0207143838 [[Category:Bushfood]] [[Category:Sapindales of Australia]] [[Category:Australian Aboriginal bushcraft]] [[Category:Native crops of Australia]] {{fruit-stub}} [[Category:Citrus]] [[fr:Microcitrus australasica]]