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Triphasia trifolia
Also called Lime Berry, Moth Lemon, Myrtle Lemon, Sweet Lemon, Sweet Lime, Wild Lime, Trifoliate Limeberry
In Singapore: Limeberry, Limau Keah, Limau Kiah, Limau Kikir, Kelingket (Cultivated in Singapore)
Limeberry is a spiny, evergreen shrub (sometimes a small tree) in the citrus family, grown mainly for its small, edible red fruit. It needs warm, frost-free conditions and is more tropical than true citrus, so it is usually kept in a greenhouse outside the tropics.
Triphasia trifolia (syn. Limonia trifolia Burm. f., Triphasia aurantiola Lour.; also called limeberry, lime berry, "sweet lime" or limoncitong kastila) is a species of Triphasia in the family Rutaceae, native to tropical southeastern Asia, especially in Indonesian islands and Philippines and possibly elsewhere.
Triphasias are very close relatives of citrus.
It is grown for its edible fruit, and has been widely introduced to other subtropical to tropical regions of the world; it has become naturalized on a number of islands in the tropical Pacific Ocean. It has also been noted as a potential invasive in several Indian Ocean archipelagos, and along the United States Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas as well as in the Caribbean. The limeberry has gained some popularity as a bonsai plant. More tropical than true citrus, it must be kept in greenhouses even in many locations where true citrus thrive. In true tropical locations, limeberry may have some promise as a potential commercial fruit crop.
Additionally, the leaves on the limeberry plant are known to have antimicrobial properties housed inside the chemical component of the flowers. As such, there have been cases in the North Pacific Islands where limeberry has been consumed to treat lung cancer and pneumonia. However, more studies are needed to make a definitive claim regarding its medicinal uses.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Triphasia trifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
