Lime (fruit)

Lime (fruit), common name for a tree (see Rue), and for its fruit (see Citrus). Limes are native to Southeast Asia and are cultivated chiefly in tropical regions. The trees are seldom more than 4.6 m (more than 15 ft) high and grow irregularly, forming crooked trunks. The white flowers are similar to flowers of oranges. The small fruit ranges in shape from oval to spherical, with a thin yellow-green rind, or exocarp; a thin white mesocarp; and a pulpy, acid, juicy, yellow-green flesh, or endocarp. The juice contains small quantities of vitamin C, but lime juice was used to prevent scurvy long before the word vitamin was coined and before it was known that lemons contain larger quantities of vitamin C. The nickname Limey was applied to the English sailors who were routinely supplied with limes to prevent scurvy. Limes are not extensively cultivated in the United States; most limes marketed in the United States are grown in Mexico. Many successful hybrids of lime and lemon, such as the Perrine lemon, are produced in the lemon-growing areas of the United States. Commercial limes are grown for juice.

Scientific classification: The lime belongs to the family Rutaceae. It is classified as Citrus aurantifolia. The Perrine lemon is classified as Citrus limon aurantifolia.