Citrus hystrix (Makrut Lime)

Makrut lime in the wet Asian tropics

Unlike many familiar limes, Citrus hystrix is a naturally occurring species. Its native range extends from the eastern Himalaya into Yunnan and northern Guangxi in China, with an additional native record from Wallis Island. Augustin Pyramus de Candolle formally published the species in his catalogue of the Montpellier botanical garden in 1813.

Across this wet-tropical range, makrut lime grows as an evergreen shrub or tree amid sustained warmth, high atmospheric moisture and regular rainfall. Its natural environment lacks the pronounced cool-winter cycle associated with subtropical mandarins and kumquats. Centuries of cultivation throughout mainland and island Southeast Asia have blurred the boundary between native and introduced populations, and its modern culinary distribution now extends far beyond its recorded natural range.

Growing a container tree or shrub

Light

Makrut Lime needs strong light to make sturdy, aromatic new leaves. Heat trapped against glass can scorch tender flushes even when mature foliage remains undamaged.

Watering

Allow the surface of the potting mix to partially dry, then check below the surface and water only when the centre is no longer wet. Makrut Lime prefers more even warmth and moisture than a cool-rested lemon, yet its fine roots cannot tolerate a continually saturated centre.

Substrate and roots

This warm-growing lime needs a porous, moisture-buffering medium around its fine feeder roots. Use a citrus mix or loam-based container substrate opened with fine bark and pumice or perlite.

Temperature

Makrut Lime needs warm conditions and should be kept away from chilling temperatures, preferably warmer while it is actively growing. Avoid cold window contact, ventilation draughts, air-conditioning and abrupt moves.

Fertilising

Use a complete citrus fertiliser that supplies nitrogen, potassium, magnesium and trace elements such as iron, manganese and zinc. Apply it according to the product label while the plant is actively making shoots, flowers or fruit; use the lower end of the labelled rate for a small plant, a recently repotted root ball or a specimen growing slowly.

What Makrut Lime leaf damage means

• New leaves curl around pale winding lines: Citrus leafminer has tunnelled inside tender tissue. Older firm leaves cannot be repaired, but they still support Makrut Lime. Keep them unless badly damaged and inspect the next flush of growth.
• Fine speckles or bronze patches spread across leaves: Check both lobes and their undersides for spider mites. Isolate Makrut Lime, confirm moving specks by tapping a leaf over white paper and follow the rinse-and-treatment sequence in the spider-mite guide
• Leaves darken and collapse after cold exposure: Makrut Lime is tropical and frost-sensitive. Move it away from cold glass and draughts, avoid saturating chilled substrate and delay pruning until the boundary between living and dead wood is visible.
• Wilting continues above wet substrate: Healthy roots should feel firm; soft brown roots indicate decay. Remove damaged tissue, clean the pot and repot Makrut Lime in a loose, fast-draining mix using the root-rot guide The characteristic two-part leaf shape is healthy and requires no correction.

Keep Citrus hystrix (Makrut Lime) away from pets

• The fruit flesh is edible, while leaves, peel and other plant material can irritate cats and dogs.
• These parts contain essential oils and psoralens that may cause vomiting, stomach pain, unusual tiredness or skin irritation.
• Contact a veterinarian if a pet chews the plant or develops symptoms. Seek medical advice if a person becomes unwell after exposure.

Citrus hystrix: where the name comes from

Citrus is the classical Latin name used for citron and related citrus plants. The epithet hystrix is Greek and Latin for a porcupine and carries the sense of bristly or spiny.

Carl Linnaeus established the genus Citrus in 1753 in Species Plantarum, page 782.

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle first described Citrus hystrix in 1813 in Catalogus Plantarum Horti Monspeliensis, page 97.