Taxon:  Citrus ×aurantiifolia (Christm.) Swingle (Citrus Lime Group)



Summary
Genus:
Citrus
Family:
Rutaceae
Subfamily:
Aurantioideae
Tribe:
Aurantieae
Subtribe:
Citrinae
Nomen number:
10683
Place of publication:
J. Washington Acad. Sci. 3:465.  1913 "aurantifolia"
Comment:
  • [Citrus medica × C. micrantha]
  • the original spelling "aurantifolia", being derived from the generic name Aurantium, is correctable under Shenzhen ICN 60.10 (see Ex. 35)
Verified:
11/13/2017 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in Nordic Baltic Genebanks. 
Other conspecific taxa
Reference(s)
  1. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  2. Backer, C. A. & R. C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, Jr. 1963-1968. Flora of Java. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  3. Bayer, R. J. et al. 2009. A molecular phylogeny of the orange subfamily (Rutaceae: Aurantioideae) using nine cpDNA sequences. Amer. J. Bot. 96:668-685. Note: = Citrus × aurantiifolia
  4. Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  5. Citrus Crop Germplasm Committee. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
  6. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1985-1992. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials (revised edition). 3:610-611.
  7. Curk, F. et al. 2016. Phylogenetic origin of limes and lemons revealed by cytoplasmic and nuclear markers. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 117: 565–583.
  8. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  9. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  10. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  11. Elevitch, C. R., ed. The traditional tree initiative: species profiles for Pacific Island agroforestry (on-line resource). Note:
    • Permanent Agriculture Resources (PAR), Holualoa, Hawai'i
    • http://www.traditionaltree.org/
  12. Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
  13. Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  14. Federici, C. T. et al. 1998. Phylogenetic relationships within the genus Citrus (Rutaceae) and related genera as revealed by RFLP and RAPD analysis. Theor. Appl. Genet. 96:812-822.
  15. Garcia-Lor, A. et al. 2013. A nuclear phylogenetic analysis: SNPs, indels and SSRs deliver new insights into the relationships in the 'true citrus fruit trees' group (Citrinae, Rutaceae) and the origin of cultivated species. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 111:1-19.
  16. Gmitter, F. G. et al. 2007. Citrus fruits. Genome mapping and molecular breeding in plants (7 vols.) Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. 14:265-279.
  17. Gmitter, F. G. et al. 2009. Citrus breeding. Breeding plantation tree crops: temperate species 105-134. Note: as "aurantifolia and recognized as a "true" species
  18. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
  19. Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
  20. Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants
  21. Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
  22. Li, X. et al. 2010. The origin of cultivated Citrus as inferred from Internal Transcribed Spacer and chloroplast DNA sequence and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism fingerprints. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 135:341-350.
  23. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
  24. Lubinska-Szczygeł, M. et al. 2018. Rapid assessment of the authenticity of limequat fruit using the electronic nose and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Monats. Chemie 149:1605-1614.
  25. Mabberley, D. J. 1997. A classification for edible Citrus (Rutaceae). Telopea 7:170. Note: lists as Citrus ×aurantiifolia (Christm.) Swingle
  26. Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. 1936-. Flora of Peru Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  27. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  28. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  29. Nicolosi, E. et al. 2000. Citrus phylogeny and genetic origin of important species as investigated by molecular markers. Theor. Appl. Genet. 100:1155-1166. Note: as "aurantifolia"
  30. Nicolosi, E. 2007. Chapter 3. Origin and taxonomy. Citrus genetics, breeding and biotechnology. CABI 19-43.
  31. Penjor, T. et al. 2013. Phylogenetic relationships of Citrus and its relatives based on matK gene sequences. PLoS One 8(4): e62574. Note: this study included one sample of Citrus aurantiifolia (as "aurantifolia) that clustered in a subgroup with C. micrantha, C. hystrix and C. macroptera within the pummelo clade
  32. Personal Care Products Council. INCI
  33. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  34. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  35. Reichel, S. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. German common names
  36. Reitz, R., ed. 1965-. Flora ilustrada catarinense.
  37. Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  38. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  39. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  40. Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:126. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  41. Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. 1943-1980. Flora of Panama. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
  42. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: lists as Citrus ×aurantiifolia (Christm.) Swingle
  43. Yaacob, O. & S. Subhadrabandhu. 1995. The production of economic fruits in South-East Asia
Common names
LANGUAGENAMEALTERNATE NAMENOTESEQCITATION
English Egyptian lime 1 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
English Indian lime 1 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
English Key lime 1 Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English lime 1 Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English Mexican lime 1 Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English sour lime 1 Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:126. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
English West Indian lime 1 Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
French citron vert 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French citronnier gallet 2 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
French lime acid 2 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
French limettier 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French limettier des Antilles 2 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
French limettier mexicain 2 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
German Limette 2 Reichel, S. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. German common names
German Limettenbaum 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German Limone 2 Reichel, S. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. German common names
German saure Limette 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
India (Hindi) kagzi nimboo 2 Citrus Crop Germplasm Committee. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
India (Hindi) kagzi nimbu 2 Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1985-1992. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials (revised edition). 3:610-611.
Italian lima 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese lima-ácida 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese limão 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese limeira 2 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Portuguese (Brazil) limão-galego 2 Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil) limão-tahiti 2 Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanish lima 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish lima mejicana 2 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Spanish limero 2 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Spanish limón agrio 2 Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Spanish limón ceutí 2 Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Transcribed Chinese lai meng 2 Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: lists as Citrus ×aurantiifolia (Christm.) Swingle
Transliterated Arabic limoo 2 Citrus Crop Germplasm Committee. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
Transliterated Arabic (Morocco) doc 2 Citrus Crop Germplasm Committee. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
2Cultivated    widely cult. in tropics & subtropics
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaYunnan Shengnaturalized
6Other    probable origin East India
Cultivated (widely cult. in tropics & subtropics)
Naturalized
Asia-Temperate
  • CHINA: China [Yunnan Sheng (naturalized)]
Other (probable origin East India)
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Food additivesflavoring Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
Human foodbeverage base Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:126. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
Human foodfruit Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 2:126. Note: lists as "aurantifolia"
Materialsessential oilsin perfumeryLeung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Vertebrate poisonsmammals Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: http://www.nordic-baltic-genebanks.org/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=10683. Accessed 7 September 2025.