Peppers & Citrus Fruits Codexery

Kaffir lime

A citrus fruit used in cuisine, perfumery, and traditional medicine.

Last updated

Southeast Asian cooking incorporates both the fruit and leaves of this plant, while its essential oil finds application in perfumery.[1] A strong citrus aroma is released by both the rind and leaves when they are crushed.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. CladeTracheophytes
  2. CladeAngiosperms
  3. CladeEudicots
  4. CladeRosids
  5. OrderSapindales
  6. FamilyRutaceae
  7. GenusCitrus
  8. SpeciesCitrus hystrix

Named by DC.

Close relatives

Other species of Citrus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Kaffir lime (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2024

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Kaffir lime and a personA 0.04 m long kaffir lime drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.04 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.04 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Kaffir lime

Where the kaffir lime has been recorded

Where the kaffir lime has been recorded42 mapped locations from 466 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (466 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 194 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Key facts and history

The earliest known reference to "caffre" lime appears in Emanuel Bonavia's 1888 text The Cultivated Oranges, Lemons Etc. of India and Ceylon.[2] Bonavia noted the fruit was used in Ceylon to keep off land leeches, giving it the name "Kudalu dchi" or Leech Lime.[2] The name "Kaffir Lime" in Ceylon was referenced in H.F. MacMillan's 1910 Handbook of Tropical Gardening and Planting.[3] Another proposed etymology is that Indian Muslims used the term to convey otherness and exotic provenance of the imported fruit.[4]

Within South Africa, the common name for this fruit is "Thai lime".[5] The fruit has a rough, green skin that turns yellow when ripe, measures about 4 cm across, and features a bumpy outer surface.[6]

What the cited sources add

The Slate article by Anderson notes that the term "kaffir" became a legally actionable slur in apartheid-era South Africa.[7] Anderson reports that lexicographer John Ayto found no link between "kaffir lime" and other southern African terms like "kaffir cattle".[7] The earliest written instance of "kaffir lime" appears in H.F. Macmillan's 1910 handbook referring to a lime found in Sri Lanka.[7] Anderson states that in Thailand, the limes are known as "makrut limes," a non-offensive alternative.[7]

The Village Bakery article advises avoiding the term "kaffir leaves" to prevent unintended offense.[8] The same source notes that Thai and Vietnamese specialty markets are more likely to carry kaffir lime leaves.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Kaffir lime" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Preliminary evaluation on the antibacterial activities of Citrus hystrix oil emulsions stabilized by TWEEN 80 and SPAN 80", International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Kaffir lime" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Anderson, "Is the Name Kaffir Lime Racist? Why You May Want to Think Twice About Using That Term.", Slate Magazine, 2014-07-03; Bonavia, "The cultivated oranges and lemons, etc. of India and Ceylon, with researches into their origin and the derivation of their names, and other useful information. With an atlas of illustrations", W. H. Allen & Co, (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Kaffir lime" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Anderson, "Is the Name Kaffir Lime Racist? Why You May Want to Think Twice About Using That Term.", Slate Magazine, 2014-07-03; Macmillan, "A handbook of tropical gardening and planting with special reference to Ceylon", H. W. Cave & Co., 1910, p. 157 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Kaffir lime" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Anderson, "Is the Name Kaffir Lime Racist? Why You May Want to Think Twice About Using That Term.", Slate Magazine, 2014-07-03 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Kaffir lime" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McKenna, "A Food Has a Historic, Objectionable Name. Should We Change It?", National Geographic, 2014-07-18; Akhtar, "Common lime name has racist history", CBC News, 2014-07-08; "Kaf·fir also kaf·fir", American Heritage Dictionary (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Kaffir lime" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Staples, "Ethnic Culinary Herbs: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation in Hawaiʻi", University of Hawaii Press, 1 January 1999, p. 27–29; jian ye cheng, "Citrix hystrix in Flora of China"; "Citrus hystrix - Plant Finder", www.missouribotanicalgarden.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Anderson, "Is the Name Kaffir Lime Racist? Why You May Want to Think Twice About Using That Term.", Slate Magazine, 2014-07-03. facts only, no text reused. slate.com
  8. "What to Replace Kaffir Lime Leaves With", Village Bakery, 2018-12-17. facts only, no text reused. village-bakery.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Kaffir lime (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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