How to Identify a Lime Tree

Lime trees are easily identifiable. Citrus trees may look a lot alike at first glance, but there are differences between them. Knowing what the tree parts, flowers and fruit look like will help you to easily identify the lime.

Lime is a shrubby tree that is between six-and-a-half and 13 feet in height. Lime trees are small evergreens.

Lime trees have thin branches and sharp needle-like spines.

A lime tree's leaves are small and oval in shape. The leaves will be dark green on the top and paler on the bottom. They will be between two to three inches in length with a rough surface.

Look for a tree that has white blossoms. The blossoms may also have some purple coloration in them. This will only be a slight coloration though. The blossoms grow in groups, and you will notice them clustered together around the tree near the ends of the branches.

Look for fruit that is pale green in color and about half the size of a lemon. The fruit of a lime tree is technically a berry. Limes are quite small and are between one and two inches in diameter. The skin or peel of a lime is quite thin as well. When a lime is ripe, the peel will be pale yellow in color. The pulp of a lime is greenish in color and has a distinctive acidic taste.

Lime trees are very sensitive to cold weather and will not survive in areas that other citrus trees are able to survive in.

Be careful of the sharp spines on the branches of a lime tree when you are picking limes. It is easy to be get cut or scratched by them.