in taxon lime (citrus) plant australian finger lime plant PLANTS:MIAU4 Australian finger-lime The Finger Lime plant, *Citrus australasica* (syn. *Microcitrus australasica*) is a thorny understorey shrub or small tree of lowland subtropical rainforest and dry rainforest in the coastal border region of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. The plant is 2-7 metres in height. Leaves are small, 1-6 cm long and 3-25 mm wide, glabrous, with a notched tip and crenate towards the apex. Flowers are white with petals 6-9 mm long. The fruit is cylindrical, 4-8 cm long, sometimes slightly curved, coming in different colours, including pink and green. Early settlers consumed the fruit and retained the trees when clearing for agriculture. Colonial botanists suggested that they should be cultivated. The finger lime has been recently popularised as a gourmet bushfood. The globular juice vesicles have been likened to a "lime caviar", which can be used as a garnish or added to various recipes. The fresh vesicles have the effect of a burst of effervescent tangy flavour as they are chewed. The fruit juice is acidic and similar to that of a lime. Marmalade and pickles are also made from finger lime. The finger lime peel can be dried and used as a flavouring spice. There is a wide range of different coloured variants of finger lime fruit, including green, yellow, orange, red, purple, black and brown. Finger lime is thought to have the widest range of colour variation within any *Citrus* species. citrus australasica microcitrus australasica Citrus australasica requires discussion