Finger lime

Get to know it

Finger lime is a slender Australian citrus filled with little pearls of juice. Each one bursts when bitten, with a fresh flavour of lemon, lime and grapefruit. Cut the fruit lengthways and a teaspoon lifts out the pearls for seafood, guacamole or a dessert.

What it is

The fruit is shaped like a finger, growing to about 7.5 cm (3 in) long, with slightly rough, leathery skin. The skin can be green, yellow, brown, purple or almost black; inside, the juice pearls can be green, yellow or pink.

Most citrus packs long, narrow juice sacs together. Finger lime’s sacs are round and nearly separate, so they come out as individual pearls. Some fruits contain more seeds than others.

Where it comes from

Finger lime, Citrus australasica, comes from the rainforests of southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. It grows beneath the canopy of taller trees. The Bundjalung people of this area called it gulalung. Early settlers ate the fruit and kept the trees when clearing land.

It is now grown beyond Australia, including on commercial farms in Hawai‘i and at Shanley Farms in California.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Australia, finger lime pearls finish dishes such as oysters with avocado cream. Clayton Donovan’s version uses Nambucca River oysters, with the fruit between the avocado and a spoonful of carrot foam.

Finger lime marmalade syrup cake uses the skin too: thin slices cook with sugar until the peel softens. The marmalade goes into both the batter and the syrup poured over the warm cake. In Hawai‘i, the pearls go into guacamole and ceviche made with local fish.

How it's grown

Finger lime grows as a large shrub or small tree, up to 6 m (20 ft) tall, with white or pale pink flowers. Grafted trees usually start fruiting within three years; a seedling can take up to fifteen years just to flower.

The fruit takes about five months to mature after flowering. A ripe finger lime feels full and comes away easily from the branch. It stops ripening once picked.

When and where you'll find it

In California, Shanley Farms lists its Citriburst finger limes as in season from June to December, sold in half-pint packs. In Hawai‘i, locally grown fruit sells at farmers’ markets.

Whole finger limes and their pulp can be frozen. Snap-frozen pulp keeps the flavour and texture of its juice pearls, giving cooks a way to save part of the harvest for later.

Sources · 6

Get it near Detroit

What it tastes like

As tart as a grapefruit, softer than a pear≈

Not sweetlemonbananaSweet

MildbananaapplelemonSour

SoftbananaappleCrisp

More about the taste

Finger lime's flavor is often compared to lemon, lime and grapefruit, with tangy individual juice vesicles. Its 'citrus caviar' nickname refers to appearance and texture, not any animal ingredient.

Peel and pulp color vary by variety — green, pale and pink-toned flesh all occur, with differing rind colors. A bright pink interior is one possibility, not a requirement for ripeness.

Choose, ripen, store, eat

1ChooseFeels full
Look for
Feels full
Detaches readily
Intact peel
Ripe fruit feels full and detaches readily; color varies by variety. Avoid fruit with peel damage or that's been left in direct sun after harvest — an intact small fruit is better than a larger damaged one.
2RipenDoesn’t ripen after picking
Doesn’t ripen after picking
Finger limes don't continue ripening after harvest, so choose fruit that's already mature — waiting on the counter won't help an immature one. Judge color for the specific variety.
3StoreFreezer, pulp or whole fruit
1. FreezerPulp or whole fruit
Freezing the pulp or whole fruit is a practical way to keep finger limes; commercially they're kept shaded and temperature-controlled.
4EatJuice vesicles
Eat
Juice vesicles
The juice vesicles can be lifted from the cut fruit and used in dressings, drinks and garnishes. Seediness varies by variety; not every finger lime is seedless.

Detroit, Michigan

When it’s good here

Grown here

Ships from other states

Orderable$37Checked Oct 19Caviar Lime (Finger Lime) · One Fruit · Miami Fruit$37

2 growing areas, 1 country

New South Wales
Queensland
You

Grows hereOther monthsYou

0 of 1 areas · October

Visiting Australian chefs featured finger limes at Kona-Kohala Chefs' Association events, which grew local interest in the fruit in Hawaiʻi.
Kona-Kohala, Hawaiʻi

20 varieties

See all 20 varieties

16 names in 6 languages

gulalungroot

Cook it

Recipes 2

Strange but true

If you like Finger lime

Close relatives

Sources

Finger lime · Fruitopia · checked Sep 22, 2026