Australian limes are species of the plant genus Citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

that are native to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. These species were formerly included in the genera Microcitrus and Eremocitrus. They have been used as a food source by indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 as well as early settlers and are used in modern Australian cuisine, including marmalade

Marmalade

Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water. The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the "Seville orange" from Spain, Citrus aurantium var...

 and sauces.

Species include:

• Citrus australasica (Finger Lime), a species from rainforest regions of northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland with elongated yellow-green to purple fruits.
• Citrus australis
  Citrus australis
  Round lime , also known as Australian lime or Australian round lime, is a large shrub or small tree of a height of up to 12m. It grows in the Beenleigh area, Queensland, Australia....
  
  (Round Lime or Dooja), a species from south-eastern Australia with round, green fruits
• Citrus glauca (Desert Lime), from arid inland areas of inland Australia. Small round fruits are produced in summer.

A number of cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s have been developed in recent years. These can be grafted on to standard citrus rootstocks. They may be grown as ornamental trees in the garden or in containers.
Grafted standards are available for some varieties. The cultivars include:

• 'Australian Outback' (or 'Australian Desert'), developed from several Desert Lime varieties
• 'Australian Red Centre' (or 'Australian Blood') , a hybrid cross of Finger Lime and mandarin
• 'Australian Sunrise' , a hybrid cross of Finger Lime and a calomondin which is pear shaped and orange inside
• 'Rainforest Pearl', a pink-fruited form of Finger Lime from Bangalow, New South Wales
  Bangalow, New South Wales
  Bangalow is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in Byron Shire with a population of 1,327. The town is 765 km north of Sydney and 167 km south of Brisbane, just off the Pacific Highway...