Microcitrus australasica
| Microcitrus australasica | ||||||||||||
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Fruit of Microcitrus australasica with vesicles similar to caviar. |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Microcitrus australasica | ||||||||||||
| ( F.Muell. ) Swingle |
Microcitrus australasica , also called Australian Fingerlimette or finger-shaped Australian lime, Finger Lime, Fingerling, lime caviar, Caviar Lime, Limepearls, is a species of the genus Microcitrus in the family of Rutaceae (Rutaceae).
description
Appearance, leaf and thorns
Microcitrus australasica grows as a shrub or tree with heights of up to 6 meters. The young plants have more or less horizontally arranged, angular branches with very short internodes .
In germination, the cotyledons remain ( cotyledons ) in the bottom and the first sheets are to be Cataphyllen reduced. The leaves are alternate. There is heterophyllia and the leaf blades are always simple. The petiole is 1 to 3 mm long. On young plants, the egg-shaped leaves are shorter than the stiff, upright thorns . The single spine sits on the side of the bud and is up to 25 mm long. On older plants, the relatively small, relatively thick leaves with a length of 1.5 to 4 cm and a width of 1.2 to 2.5 cm are ovate, wedge-shaped or almost rhombic with a very blunt or edged upper end. In the Flora of New South Wales Online , the leaf blades are 1 to 5 cm long and 3 to 25 mm wide as obovate to more or less rhombic with a notched top and wedge-shaped base and a wavy edge to the ends described. The bare leaf surfaces have many oil glands and therefore the leaves smell aromatic when they are crushed.
blossom
The flowers stand individually, with a length of 1 to 3 mm and relatively short flower stalks. The relatively small, radially symmetrical , hermaphrodite flowers are usually five-fold, but sometimes three or four-fold. The sepals are about 1.5 mm long. The white petals are upright, concave and broadly rounded with a length of 6 to 9 mm. There are 20 to 25 stamens present. The stamp is very short and thick. The ovary is five to seven chambers with many (8 to 16 or even 20) ovules in each chamber.
Fruit and seeds
The fruit is usually 4 to 8 cm long (Swingle), or 6.5 to 10 cm ( Flora of New South Wales Online ) and a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 cm, long, slender and cylindrical. spindle-shaped and often slightly curved, often with a blunt swelling at the base and top. The relatively thin fruit skin is green or yellow to pinkish-red. The fruits only have five to seven segments. The pulp is green to pinkish-red. The pulp is made up of loosely connected, almost spherical juice strands that contain acidic, penetrating-tasting juice. The fruits ripen in Australia between May and June.
The seeds are egg-shaped with a length of 5 to 6 or up to 7 mm and mostly flattened on one side and often have small indentations on the other side.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 18.
Occurrence
The area of origin of Microcitrus australasica includes the subtropical rainforests of the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland in the eastern part of Australia.
sorts
The Australian Cultivar Registration Authority ( ACRA ) has already registered 7 varieties of Microcitrus australasica :
- ' Alstonville '
- ' Blunobia Pink Crysta '
- ' Byron Sunrise '
- ' Durhams Emerald '
- ' Jali Red '
- ' Judy's Everbearing '
- ' Pink Ice '
Two varieties that are not yet registered:
- ' Blunobia Red Blush '
- ' Mia Rose '
Taxonomy
It was first described in 1858 by Ferdinand von Müller under the name ( Basionym ) Citrus australasica in Fragmenta Phytographiæ Australiæ , 1, p. 26. Citrus australasica F. Muell. was placed in the genus Microcitrus in 1915 by Walter Tennyson Swingle in Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences , Volume 5, p. 572 . Further synonyms are Citrus australasica var. Sanguinea F.M.Bailey and Microcitrus australasica var. Sanguinea (FMBailey) Swingle .
use
Microcitrus australasica is grown with several varieties.
The fruit is eaten raw or made into jam . In the USA, Microcitrus australasica was used on a trial basis for breeding and as a base for other citrus varieties.
The effect of the fresh vesicles that burst open in the mouth is reminiscent of caviar. Hence the name: lime caviar .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Citrus Garden: Trees & Fruits - Genus Microcitrus ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Article on Fingerling Limes on GourmetSleuth.com .
- ↑ a b FoodLexx - Finger Lime: Finger lime (lat. Citrus australasica) is a little known ... ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Citrus australasica at Flora of New South Wales Online .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p First publication at biodiversitylibrary.org .
- ↑ Microcitrus australasica at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ New combination at biodiversitylibrary.org .
- ↑ Microcitrus australasica in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ↑ Microcitrus australasica at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ Entry at Australian Plant Name Index = APNI .
- ^ Entry in Mansfeld's World Database of Agriculture and Horticultural Crops .
