Citrus native to Southeast Australia, commonly known as lemon caviar. It is a species of undergrowth of both the wet and coastal dry rainforests of Queensland and New South Wales.
In crops in continental European latitudes, it needs sun for a good part of the day, producing flowers with continuity and fruit accordingly. It often happens to have both of them at the same time, with different states of maturation that make this small essence particularly ornamental.
The plant has a modest development, from 2 to 7 m; the leaves are small and pointed, 5-25 mm broad, 12-60 mm long. The small flowers are white with 6-9 mm long petals, appear in spring and can bloom again in September-October. The fruits are cylindrical (finger-shaped) 5-10 cm long, at times slightly curved; they have smooth or slightly wrinkled skin that can have different colors: brown, reddish, green, as well as the pulp: red, pink, yellow, green. Among citrus fruits they are those that have the widest variation in color.
Its branches tend to vegetate horizontally, which is why it is useful to often intervene with pruning to form the plants.
It is also called Caviar Lime, because inside the fruits it has small blisters that are similar to caviar, it is used in recent years by the most famous chefs to decorate fish-based dishes.
It is very important to know that the lemon caviar must not be cooked, as its taste could be very unpleasant. The lemon caviar is a very expensive product, because it is rare in cultivation, but many are making plants.
The plant does well in a soil that is very well fertilized, which is not dry and which is not excessively clayey.
Resistance to cold
At the moment we only tested it down to -5 ° in a sheltered environment and it held up well.