Citrus aurantiifolia

Key lime

Pineapples were the first major crop grown in the Florida Keys but a number of factors worked together to eventually bring about the demise of this enterprise, including soil exhaustion, the 1906 hurricane and Flagler’s importation of pineapples from Cuba on his new railroad through the Keys starting around 1912. So starting in the early 1900s, Keys residents began planting a new crop - Key limes, which were able to produce fruit in the less-than-ideal soil. Indeed, the Key lime grows very well in our alkaline soils and can tolerate periods of drought, though it would prefer not to. These fruits were pickled in salt water and shipped north as popular snacks. Soil on the Keys is quite thin because the Keys are actually a coral reef that only recently (geologically speaking) became “land.” Early planting of Key limes was done from seed in holes found in the coral stone bedrock, which was not ideal agriculture and sounds rather boring if you ask me. Growers later used dynamite to create larger holes and regular planting rows in the coral stone bedrock, which is exponentially more awesome and allowed the trees much more space for their roots to grow. While the Key lime industry thrived for about ten years, it ended abruptly with the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. From then on, the Key lime remained in the Keys but usually only as a fruit tree for local consumption. George D. Fleming, Jr. formed Key Lime Associates in the Rock Harbor area of Key Largo in the early 1950s and helped lead educational campaigns encouraging continued propagation and growth of the Key lime in partnership with the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce in the ‘50s.

There are endless examples of how common names of plants can be misleading. You would think, for example, that the Key lime would certainly be native to the Florida Keys, right? Nope, try Southeast Asia. The Keys just happen to be the place where the best-known use for the fruit, the Key lime pie, began. This use certainly helped the tree’s continued cultivation, especially here in the Keys, where it’s hard to find a restaurant or cafe that doesn’t have its own rendition of this classic dessert for you to try. Basically, the one common ingredient is juice from the Key lime. Beyond that, there is extensive variation from crust to topping and the good stuff in between. It’s very difficult to answer the question “Where can I find the best Key lime pie?” because each individual has their own tastes and will prefer the one that suits them best. The challenge is finding this “perfect pie” given the overwhelming amount of offerings...I guess that means you’ll just have to go out and try them all!

The Key lime has a unique, complex flavor that makes it ideal for flavoring fish and also as a favorite sidekick of bartenders for a variety of drinks, especially the mojito and Cuba Libre. “Cuba libre!” was the rally cry for the Cuban independence movement in the late 1800s. Cuba achieved its independence in 1898 and cola first arrived on the island in 1900 so it is presumed that the drink (rum, cola and Key lime juice) was concocted in the early 1900s in Cuba in the spirit of celebration of independence. Cuba is also the birthplace of the mojito, which was a favorite cocktail of Ernest Hemingway made with white rum, Key lime juice, sugar, sparkling water and mint. A nonalcoholic drink called “old sour” made with Key lime juice and salt is made by fishermen in the Caribbean to take with them on their boats. The salt balances out the acidity of the limes and is also useful to replenish the sodium lost through sweating.

The acids and oils found in citrus fruits make effective household cleaning agents. Hand-pressed peel oil is used extensively by the perfume industry. Use of this fruit is commonplace in Southeast Asia, where it is used frequently in nearly every home for cooking, drinks and medicine. In tropical Africa, lime twigs are popular chewsticks, which are used to clean teeth and freshen breath in the absence of toothbrushes.