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Finger Limes

The fruit of the Australian finger lime Citrus Australasia is sought after by top restaurants around the world. Often described as ‘lime caviar’ for its small bead-like crystals of tangy juice, it’s used to pep up drinks, in desserts, as a garnish and even to make marmalade. For the home gardener, it is also an attractive tree, growing to six meters, and its thorns provide a perfect habitat for small birds. It is native to the rain forests of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales, but will grow elsewhere.

 Planting schedule for warm, temperate and cool areas of Australia

Anytime except the height of summer when it can be too hard to make sure they get enough water.

Position

It is a good idea to protect trees from prevailing winds as the fruit can be damaged by the plant’s thorns. Finger limes thrive in dappled light as well as full sun. In cooler climates, a partly shaded north-facing site is preferred. They are able to withstand light frost.

Finger limes, along with other citrus, make good hedges and espalier well against fences and walls.

Soil and fertilizer

They grow in a wide range of soils in tropical and subtropical rainforest. In temperate areas, deep loamy soils with adequate irrigation are ideal. Like all citrus, finger limes prefer well-drained soil with a pH of between 5 and 6.5.

Mulch in spring and make sure the soil is kept moist in summer.

Less fertiliser is needed for finger limes than other citrus plants, due probably to their smaller leaves and canopy. Best not to fertilise from the time of flowering until the fruit is at least 1cm long as fruit may fall off. Use a fertiliser low in phosphorus.
Flowers and fruiting

The flowers are 10 to 14mm in diameter, white or pale pink and appear in late summer and autumn. They are followed by elongated fruits about 30-120mm long. The fruits ripen in winter through to spring and may be green, yellow, black, purple or red. The pulp is green, yellow or pink.Propagation

Finger limes can be grown from seed, cuttings or grafting. They are slow growing and if grown from seed may take up to 15 years to mature. It is important to use fresh seeds. Semi-hardwood cuttings, like seedlings, are slow to grow and have a low success rate. When grafted onto exotic citrus, the plant matures faster and is able to withstand other soil types and climatic conditions. The most common exotic species they are grafted to is Citrus trifoliata.

Pests and diseases

Citrus gall wasp Bruchophagus fellis is an Australian native insect pest. Citrus australasica is its natural host. The wasp has spread across the country in recent decades to areas of citrus production and to backyards. The wasp can reduce fruit size, tree vigour and yield.

The following practices can help limit the damage caused by citrus gall wasp: check your citrus trees between June and September when galls are at their most visible; prune off the infected branches by late August (before the adult wasps emerge); burn the infected branches. Do not put in the compost or green waste bin. Hang sticky yellow traps on the tree in mid-August as they attract and trap the emerging adults, but make sure you take the traps down by November as they also kill beneficial insects.

Fertilise in late autumn or winter with a balanced fertiliser (not high in nitrogen, as this promotes soft growth which provides ideal conditions for the wasp.

A biological form of control – introducing wasps that prey on citrus gall wasp – is used in orchards and home gardens. Megastigmus brevivalvus and Megastigmus trisulcus are natural enemies of citrus gall wasp. They lay their eggs inside the eggs of the citrus gall wasp and when their eggs hatch they destroy the host.

Megastigus brevivalvus is sold to home gardeners in some states, but it is only available for a two-week window around October/November. If you are able to get some of the parasitic wasps, they must be released soon after the citrus gall wasps have emerged.

Finger limes also suffer from similar pests and diseases to that of other citrus plants, such as scale insects or bronze orange bug. The fungal disease Melanose Diaporthe citri may also be encountered.

Some ways to get rid of scale without using toxic sprays are: encourage predatory bugs into your garden (some predatory insects can be bought); rub off by hand; prune and dispose of infected branches, twigs and leaves; and apply horticultural oil (or home-made vegetable oil soap) which kills insects by smothering them.

Bronze orange bug can be removed by hand and drowned in a bucket of soapy water, but it is wise to wear gloves as they can squirt a nasty liquid. Spraying with eco-oil in winter and early spring may reduce numbers.

One of the non-chemical ways to deal with fungal disease like Diaporthe citri is to prune off dead twigs and branches and remove diseased material from under the tree.

Cultivars

There are many cultivars of the Australian Finger Lime. They include: the ‘Rainforest Pearl’, a vigorous grower with pink fruit; ‘Alstonville’ – a tall growing shrub producing dark green-black fruit with a pale green flesh; and ‘Blood Lime’, a cross between a mandarin and a finger lime which boasts blood red rind, flesh and juice.

Tastes vary. Some suggest trying the fruit before buying a tree to make sure you like the flavour. It is not always easy to find the fruit as demand exceeds supply. Try fruit markets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The trees can be bought at most nurseries and on sites like eBay.

Recipes

Smoked salmon wraps with finger limes
smoked salmon
cucumber
wasabi or horse radish cream
capers
finger limes
fresh tahitian lime

Finely shred cucumbers, lay salmon slices out. Place cucumber, finely sliced capers, horse radish cream or wasabi and finger limes on salmon and wrap. Squeeze a little lime juice over the top and garnish with finger lime.

Garlic & chilli prawns with pepperberry, saltbush & finger lime

1kg tiger prawns, shelled and de-veined, tails left intact
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 Tbsp chilli flakes
1 ½ tsp ground pepperberries
Sea salt
1 ½ Tbsp macadamia oil
Juice of ½ a lemon
2 Tbsp vino cotto
1 tsp saltbush
2 finger limes (about 3 Tbsp pulp)
1 ½ Tbsp coriander leaves chopped

Place the prawns, garlic, chili, pepper berries and a good pinch of sea salt into a bowl. Mix well and refrigerate until needed.

In a small bowl combine the lemon juice and vino cotto. Stir well and set aside.

Heat a barbecue grill or griddle pan over high heat. Cook the prawns a couple of minutes on either side and arrange on a serving platter. Drizzle the dressing over the prawns then sprinkle with the saltbush, finger lime pulp and coriander leaves. Sprinkle a little more chilli flakes over, if you wish. Eat immediately.


References

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