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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Key Lime
| image = Ripekeylime.jpg
| image_caption = Tree-ripened key lime. Color is bright yellow, unlike the more common green Persian limes.
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Rutaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Citrus]]''
| species = '''''C. aurantifolia'''''
| binomial = ''Citrus aurantifolia''
| binomial_authority = (Christm.) Swingle
}}
The '''Key lime''' (''Citrus aurantifolia'' (often abbreviated to: ''C. aurantifolia''), or ''Citrus'' x ''aurantifolia'' (Christm.) Swingle), also known as the '''Mexican lime''', '''West Indian lime''' or '''Bartender's lime''', has a globose fruit, 2.5-5 cm in diameter (1-2 in), that is yellow when ripe but usually picked green commercially. It is smaller, seedier, has a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner [[rind]] than that of the more common [[Persian lime]]. It is valued for its unique flavor compared to other limes, with the key lime usually having a more tart and bitter flavor. Named after the [[Florida Keys]], it is best known there as the flavoring ingredient in [[Key lime pie]].
''C. aurantiifolia'' is a shrubby tree , to 5 m (16 ft), with many [[Spine (biology)|thorns]]. Dwarf varieties are popular with home growers and can be grown indoors in winter in colder climates. The trunk rarely grows straight, with many branches that often originate quite far down on the trunk. The leaves are ovate 2.5–9 cm (1–3.5 in) long, resembling [[Orange (fruit)|orange]] leaves (the scientific name ''aurantiifolia'' refers to this resemblance to the leaves of the [[Orange (fruit)|orange, ''C. aurantium'']]). The [[flower]]s are 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, are yellowish white with a light purple tinge on the margins. Flowers and fruit appear throughout the year but are most abundant from May to September {{ref|description_a}} {{ref|description_b}}.
''C. aurantiifolia'' is native to [[Southeast Asia]]. Its apparent path of introduction was through the [[Middle East]] to [[North Africa]], thence to [[Sicily]] and [[Andalusia]] and via Spanish explorers to the [[West Indies]], including the [[Florida Keys]]. From the Caribbean, lime cultivation spread to tropical and sub-tropical [[North America]], including [[Mexico]], [[Florida]], and later [[California]] {{ref|path_a}}.
The English name "lime" was derived from the [[Persian language|Persian]] name لیمو ''Limu'' in this course.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} "Key" would seem to have been added some time after the [[Persian lime]] [[cultivar]] gained prominence commercially in the United States following the hurricane of 1926, which destroyed the bulk of US ''C. aurantiifolia'' agriculture, leaving it to grow mostly casually in the [[Florida Keys]] {{ref|1926_a}} {{ref|1926_b}}. Since the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] came into effect, many Key limes on the US market are grown in [[Mexico]] and [[Central America]]. They are also grown in [[Texas]] and [[California]].
==Footnotes==
# {{note|description_a}} [http://www.fao.org/docrep/x2230e/x2230e12.htm Alphabetical List of Plant Families with Insecticidal and Fungicidal Properties]
# {{note|description_b}} [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mexican_lime.html ''Citrus aurantiifolia'' Swingle]
# {{note|path_a}} [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mexican_lime.html ''Citrus aurantiifolia'' Swingle]
# {{note|1926_b}} [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mexican_lime.html ''Citrus aurantiifolia'' Swingle]
==External links==
*[http://www.tonytantillo.com/fruits/limes.html Fruits: Limes]
[[Category:Citrus]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Key Lime
| image = Ripekeylime.jpg
| image_caption = Tree-ripened key lime. Color is bright yellow, unlike the more common green Persian limes.
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Rutaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Citrus]]''
| species = '''''C. aurantifolia'''''
| binomial = ''Citrus aurantifolia''
| binomial_authority = (Christm.) Swingle
}}
The '''Key lime''' (''Citrus aurantifolia'' (often abbreviated to: ''C. aurantifolia''), or ''Citrus'' x ''aurantifolia'' (Christm.) Swingle), also known as the '''Mexican lime''', '''West Indian lime''' or '''Bartender's lime''', has a globose fruit, 2.5-5 cm in diameter (1-2 in), that is yellow when ripe but usually picked green commercially. It is smaller, seedier, has a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner [[rind]] than that of the more common [[Persian lime]]. It is valued for its unique flavor compared to other limes, with the key lime usually having a more tart and bitter flavor. Named after the [[Florida Keys]], it is best known there as the flavoring ingredient in [[Key lime pie]].
''C. aurantiifolia'' is a shrubby tree , to 5 m (16 ft), with many [[Spine (biology)|thorns]]. Dwarf varieties are popular with home growers and can be grown indoors in winter in colder climates. The trunk rarely grows straight, with many branches that often originate quite far down on the trunk. The leaves are ovate 2.5–9 cm (1–3.5 in) long, resembling [[Orange (fruit)|orange]] leaves (the scientific name ''aurantiifolia'' refers to this resemblance to the leaves of the [[Orange (fruit)|orange, ''C. aurantium'']]). The [[flower]]s are 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, are yellowish white with a light purple tinge on the margins. Flowers and fruit appear throughout the year but are most abundant from May to September {{ref|description_a}} {{ref|description_b}}.
''C. aurantiifolia'' is native to [[Southeast Asia]]. Its apparent path of introduction was through the [[Middle East]] to [[North Africa]], thence to [[Sicily]] and [[Andalusia]] and via Spanish explorers to the [[West Indies]], including the [[Florida Keys]]. From the Caribbean, lime cultivation spread to tropical and sub-tropical [[North America]], including [[Mexico]], [[Florida]], and later [[California]] {{ref|path_a}}.
The English name "lime" was derived from the [[Persian language|Persian]] name لیمو ''Limu'' in this course.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} "Key" would seem to have been added some time after the [[Persian lime]] [[cultivar]] gained prominence commercially in the United States following the hurricane of 1926, which destroyed the bulk of US ''C. aurantiifolia'' agriculture, leaving it to grow mostly casually in the [[Florida Keys]] {{ref|1926_a}} {{ref|1926_b}}. Since the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] came into effect, many Key limes on the US market are grown in [[Mexico]] and [[Central America]]. They are also grown in [[Texas]] and [[California]].
==Footnotes==
# {{note|description_a}} [http://www.fao.org/docrep/x2230e/x2230e12.htm Alphabetical List of Plant Families with Insecticidal and Fungicidal Properties]
# {{note|description_b}} [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mexican_lime.html ''Citrus aurantiifolia'' Swingle]
# {{note|path_a}} [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mexican_lime.html ''Citrus aurantiifolia'' Swingle]
# {{note|1926_b}} [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mexican_lime.html ''Citrus aurantiifolia'' Swingle]
==External links==
*[http://www.tonytantillo.com/fruits/limes.html Fruits: Limes]
[[Category:Citrus]]
