There are six species of Australian native citrus and, while the native finger lime is the best known, desert lime comes in a close second. Both are superfoods well adapted to our climatic conditions.
These original, naturally occurring citruses are Aussie heirlooms and the 20-plus cultivars now available to the home gardener are our “modern heirlooms”.
FINGER LIME, CITRUS AUSTRALASICA
Finger limes are loved for their glistening, caviar-like pearls that have taken the culinary and cocktail world by storm over recent years and home gardeners are equally keen to grow them.
Fresh and ripe, they range in price from $20 to $80 per kilo, so if you’re keen to use them regularly it makes sense to grow your own.
In Bundjalung country in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, finger lime is known as and Indigenous Australians have used it as a valuable food resource and medicine for thousands of years.
