Blood limes (or 'Australian Blood Lime') are a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to So ...

developed by the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

project to investigate

salt-resistant Halotolerance is the adaptation of living organisms to conditions of high salinity. Halotolerant species tend to live in areas such as hypersaline lakes, coastal dunes, saline deserts, salt marshes, and inland salt seas and springs. Halophiles are ...

crops. While the

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

proved suitable for high-salt conditions, they have seen no commercial development; the first commercial crop appeared in markets in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in July 2004, and are under consideration for export. The blood lime is smaller than most limes, approximately long by diameter, and somewhat more sweet than the standard. It is egg-shaped in the winter. The flesh inside a blood lime is composed of red-orange

vesicles Vesicle may refer to: ; In cellular biology or chemistry * Vesicle (biology and chemistry), a supramolecular assembly of lipid molecules, like a cell membrane * Synaptic vesicle ; In human embryology * Vesicle (embryology), bulge-like features o ...

. The skin can be eaten with the fruit. It is usually red or burgundy, but can sometimes be green like the standard lime. The blood lime is a cross between the red finger lime (''

Citrus australasica ''Citrus australasica'', the Australian finger lime or caviar lime, is a thorny understorey shrub or small tree of lowland subtropical rainforest and rainforest in the coastal border region of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. It has ...

var. sanguinea'') and the 'Ellendale Mandarin' hybrid. The Ellendale is a sweet orange/mandarin cross. The medium-sized trees, which have thorns, may be used as ornamental plants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blood Lime Limes (fruit) Citrus hybrids CSIRO