View source for Key lime

{{Taxobox
| name = Key Lime
| image = Key lime.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Key Lime
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Rutaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Citrus]]''
| species = '''''C. aurantiifolia'''''
| binomial = ''Citrus aurantiifolia''
| binomial_authority = (Christm.) Swingle
}}

The '''Key lime''' is a [[citrus fruit]]. Its [[Latin language|Latin]] name is  ''Citrus aurantiifolia'' (often, less correctly: ''C. aurantifolia''), or ''Citrus'' x ''aurantiifolia'' (Christm.) Swingle. It is also known as the '''Mexican lime''', '''West Indian lime''' or '''Bartender's lime'''. It is a [[shrub]] that grows to about 5m in height. 

Its fruit is 2.5-5 cm in diameter (1-2 in). The fruit is yellow when ripe but usually, it is picked green. It is smaller, seedier, has 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 lime.  The Key lime usually has a more tart and bitter flavor. It is perhaps most distinguished as an ingredient in the [[Key lime pie]]. 

''C. aurantiifolia'' is a shrubby tree, that grows 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. They resemble [[Orange (fruit)|orange]] leaves (the scientific name ''aurantiifolia'' refers to the leaves' resemblance). The [[flower]]s are 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter. They 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'' originally came from  [[Southeast Asia]].  It was introduced through the [[Middle East]] to [[North Africa]] and [[Europe]] during the [[Crusades]]. [[Spain|Spanish]] explorers then took it to the [[West Indies]] (at some point including the [[Florida Keys]]) contemporaneously with [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]], then 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.  "Key" would seem to have been added sometime after the Persian lime [[cultivar]] became more important commercially in the United States. This was after the hurricane of 1926. The hurricane destroyed most U.S. ''C. aurantiifolia'' plants.  Some plants growing in the wild in the [[Florida Keys|Keys]] survived the hurricane.{{ref|1926_a}}  Since the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] came into effect, many Key limes are grown in [[Mexico]] and [[Central America]]. They are also grown in [[Texas]] and [[California]].

== Key Lime Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:A tree full of key limes in West Bengal, India.jpg|A tree full of key limes in [[West Bengal]], India

File:Map of inferred original wild ranges of the main Citrus cultivars, and selected relevant wild taxa (Fuller et al., 2017).png|Map of inferred original wild ranges of the main ''Citrus'' cultivars, and selected relevant wild taxa

File:Dayap or Philippine keylime.jpg|Key lime is known as ''dayap'' in the [[Philippines]], where it is native

File:keylime-flower.jpg|Flowers of the Key lime plant

File:KeyLime 2010 07 25 0001.jpg|White Key lime flower in different stages

File:Starr 080610-8303 Citrus aurantiifolia.jpg|Key lime fruits with persistent [[Gynoecium#Carpels|styles]]
</gallery>
== Footnotes ==
{{commons|Key limes}}
{{wikispecies|Key lime}}
# {{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]

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[[Category:Citrus]]


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