{"id":593,"date":"2024-04-18T11:46:44","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T15:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/?page_id=593"},"modified":"2026-01-21T17:18:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T22:18:47","slug":"lime-key","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/resources\/plantid\/fruits-and-nuts\/lime-key\/","title":{"rendered":"Lime, Key"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"fullwidth-text-block\"><div class=\"container px-0\"><div class=\"row align-items-start\"><div class=\"col-12\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plant Identification Learning Module:<br>Fruits &amp; Nuts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"intro\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Lime (<em>Citrus x aurantiifolia<\/em>)<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>The key lime is a shrubby citrus tree, to 16 feet, with many thorns. The trunk rarely grows straight, with many branches that originate quite far down on the trunk. The leaves are&nbsp;<em>ovate<\/em>, one to three inches long, resembling orange leaves. The flowers, one inch in diameter, are yellowish white with a light purple tinge on the edges. Flowers and fruit appear throughout the year but are most abundant from May to September. The key lime is a round fruit that is yellow when ripe but usually picked green. It is smaller, seedier, has a stronger aroma, and a thinner rind than that of the Tahiti lime (<em>Citrus latifolia<\/em>). It is valued for its unique flavor compared to other limes, with the key lime usually having a more tart and bitter flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_branch300x400.jpg\" alt=\"Limbs of a key lime tree with round green fruit and medium sized green oval, pointed leaves\" class=\"wp-image-6329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_branch300x400.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_branch300x400-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.inaturalist.org\/photos\/387187731\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Martin Reith, some rights reserved.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"350\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_foliage_thorn_zona.jpg\" alt=\"Key lime foliage, showing a thorn on the stem.\" class=\"wp-image-6311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_foliage_thorn_zona.jpg 350w, https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_foliage_thorn_zona-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2oWYC8P\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scott Zona, some rights reserved.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_flower400.jpg\" alt=\"Two small white, star-shaped flowers of a key lime tree.\" class=\"wp-image-6319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_flower400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_flower400-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.inaturalist.org\/photos\/342084792\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Asael Bonfada, some rights reserved.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"312\" src=\"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_jh_crane.jpg\" alt=\"Key limes are actually yellow when ripe. They're very round. This photo shows one Key lime whole and yellow, and another cut open to show the light yellow-green translucent flesh.\" class=\"wp-image-6315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_jh_crane.jpg 400w, https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/key_lime_jh_crane-300x234.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edis.ifas.ufl.edu\/publication\/CH092\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jonathan H. Crane, UF\/IFAS.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":437,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"featured_post":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-593","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7701,"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/593\/revisions\/7701"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu\/mastergardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}