Wild Lime is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to southern Florida and the Florida Keys that grows up to 23 feet tall with a spreading, often multi-trunked form. This member of the citrus family features compound leaves with distinctly winged leaf stems and 7-11 rounded leaflets that emit a strong lime fragrance when crushed. The trunk and branches are armed with sharp spines, and it produces small, greenish-yellow flowers in dense clusters followed by brown seed capsules containing black seeds. Thriving in hammocks and woodland edges, it serves as a larval host plant for giant swallowtail butterflies and provides cover and food for various wildlife species. With its dense, thorny foliage, it makes an excellent natural barrier or privacy screen for central and south Florida landscapes in zones 9-11.
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Zanthoxylum fagara
Wild Lime is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to southern Florida and the Florida Keys that grows up to 23 feet tall with a spreading, often multi-trunked form. This member of the citrus family features compound leaves with distinctly winged leaf stems and 7-11 rounded leaflets that emit a strong lime fragrance when crushed. The trunk and branches are armed with sharp spines, and it produces small, greenish-yellow flowers in dense clusters followed by brown seed capsules containing black seeds. Thriving in hammocks and woodland edges, it serves as a larval host plant for giant swallowtail butterflies and provides cover and food for various wildlife species. With its dense, thorny foliage, it makes an excellent natural barrier or privacy screen for central and south Florida landscapes in zones 9-11.
Evergreen, thorny, small tree or large shrub (15 ft)
Prunable, dry to moist (well-drained) soils, full sun to part shade, tolerant of salt inundation but only slightly salt wind tolerant
Fragrant flowers attract numerous pollinators
Provides wildlife cover and food for birds. Larval host for Giant Swallowtail and Schaus’ Swallowtail
Fruit is tiny and edible but used as a numbing agent, sometimes used as a spice
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