Finger-Lime

finger-lime the fruit of a shrub or small tree, Microcitrus australasica, found in the rainforest regions of NE Australia. It belongs to the citrus family, Rutaceae, but is not a true lime.

The near-cylindrical fruits are about 6 cm (2.5") long and may remain green even when ripe, although they can also be purple or blackish. The Australian author Cribb (1975) comments with enthusiasm:

If the fruit is cut across, the turgid pulp cells expand and separate, pushing out of the five or six longitudinal segments as a cluster of small glistening balls. For anyone who likes sour fruit these pulp cells are delicious; they burst pleasantly at slight pressure from the teeth and provide a most welcome refreshment. The fruits also can be made into marmalade which not only has a pleasant flavour and distinctive perfume but is ornamental as well, the sliced rings of fruit looking like miniature cartwheels.