"Kaffir" is thought to ultimately derive from the Arabic kafir, meaning infidel, though the mechanism by which it came to be applied to the lime is uncertain. Following the takeover of the Swahili coast, Muslims used the term to … See more

Pierre Sonnerat (1748–1814) collected specimens of it in 1771–72, and it appears in Lamarck's Encyclopédie Méthodique (1796).
Makrut lime appears … See more

C. hystrix is grown worldwide in suitable climates as a garden shrub for home fruit production. It is well suited to container gardens and for large garden pots on patios, terraces, and in conservatories. See more

C. hystrix contains significant quantities of furanocoumarins, in both the peel and the pulp. Furanocoumarins are known to cause phytophotodermatitis, a potentially severe skin inflammation. Cases of phytophotodermatitis induced by external use of C. hystrix … See more

C. hystrix is a thorny shrub or small tree, 2 to 11 metres (6 to 35 ft) tall, with aromatic and distinctively shaped "double" leaves. These hourglass-shaped leaves comprise the leaf blade plus a flattened, leaf-like stalk (botanically, a winged petiole). The fruit is rough and … See more

Culinary
C. hystrix leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisines such as Indonesian, Laotian, Cambodian, and Thai. The leaves are the most … See more

The compound responsible for the characteristic aroma was identified as (–)-(S)-citronellal, which is contained in the leaf oil up to 80 percent; minor components include citronellol (10 percent), nerol and limonene.
From a … See more