Citrus limetta

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

Fruit - raw or made into juices. Insipidly sweet when ripe, with a slight lemon flavour. The fruit can be sweet or acid, the flavour is weak and insipid. The pulp is slightly succulent with a medium sugar content, slightly acidic, aromatic with a slightly sweet or insipid flavour. The fruit is about 6.5cm in diameter.

Where to Find It

It grows in tropical and subtropical countries. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Africa, Asia*, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Central America, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Europe, Haiti, Himalayas, India, Italy, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, North Africa, North America, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, South America, USA, Vietnam, West Indies,

How to Identify

A small evergreen tree. It grows 6-12 m high. The crown is round. The leaves are simple and leathery. They are 4-8 cm long. There are small wings on the leaf stalk. The flowers are pure white. The fruit looks like a lime. It is not sour. It has a rounded base and smooth skin. The skin is thin and green. The flesh is juicy and orange. There are few seeds. Now Citrus medica L.

Nutrition Score: 28/100

How to Grow

Plants are grown by seed or grafting.

Propagation: The seed is best sown in containers as soon as it is ripe, after thoroughly rinsing it. Sow stored seed in containers as soon as possible]. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 13°c. Seedlings are liable to damp off so they must be watered with care and kept well ventilated. The seed is usually polyembrionic, two or more seedlings arise from each seed and they are genetically identical to the parent but they do not usually carry any virus that might be present in the parent plant. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until they are 10cm or more tall before planting out into their permanent positions. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. This species grows easily from cuttings. Layering in October.

Medicinal Uses

Sweet lime is served as juice and a good mixer for vodka or rum. It is the most common citrus juice available in the Indian subcontinent. The juice is commonly sold at mobile road stalls. Like most citrus, the fruit is rich in vitamin C, providing 50 mg per 100 g serving and antioxidants. In Iran, it is popular as a home remedy to treat influenza and the common cold. The tree is used for ornamental purposes as well as for graft stock.

Other Uses

An essential oil is obtained from the peel of the fruit. Used as a rootstock for other Citrus species.

Citrus limetta, alternatively considered to be a cultivar of Citrus limon, C. limon 'Limetta', is a species of citrus, commonly known as mousami, musami, mosambi, sweet lime, sweet lemon, and sweet limetta, it is a member of the sweet lemons. It is small and round, like a common lime. It is a cross between the citron (Citrus medica) and a bitter orange (Citrus × aurantium). It is native to the southern regions of Iran and also cultivated in the Mediterranean Basin. It is a different fruit from the Palestinian sweet lime and from familiar sour limes such as the Key lime and the Persian lime. However, genomic analysis revealed that it is highly similar to Rhobs el Arsa, and the two likely represent progeny of distinct crosses involving the same citrus parents. The South Asian cultivars originated in Mozambique and were brought to South Asia by the Portuguese. The common name mosambi and its variants trace their origin to Mozambique.

Other Information

It is occasionally cultivated.

Notes

There are 20 Citrus species. Several hybrids have been formed.

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