#fruit poll

Australian Blood Lime

(citrus australasica, var. sanguinea x citrus reticulata 'Ellendale' or citrus x sykesii)

Also known as red centre lime

The Australian blood lime is a hybrid citrus between the red native fingerlime and an Ellendale mandarin (which itself is a hybrid between the sweet orange and a mandarin) and was developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), an Australian government agency, as part of a program on biosalinity and halotolerance (how well crops do in saltier soil) and to address the small yields and fruits of wild trees. Dr Steve Sykes crossed native citrus with modern cultivars, eventually developing what have become the Australian Sunrise limes, which are three distinct varieties:

Australian Blood lime, this variety, a hybrid between red native fingerlime and Ellendale mandarin. Its rind as well as its flesh and juice are distinctively red.

Australian Sunrise lime, a hybrid between red native fingerlime and calamondin (which itself is a hybrid between a kumquat and a mandarin), which is more pear-shaped and is often used to make marmalade.

Australian Outback lime or Australian Desert lime, which was developed from a collection of different native desert lime trees. The fruits stay fairly small, but they're quite juicy and used in sauces.

The CSIRO program was very succesful as the newly developed varieties are high-yielding with larger than normal fruit and consistent yields.

Whump poll!