In Jo's Yard - 67 Wild Lime Tree

Northerners come to Florida and “think palm trees”, but there are many other beautiful native trees.  My Wild Lime (Zanthoxylum fagara) is an example. It is known for its unusual foliage and fragrance.  You won’t get limes suitable for margaritas, but it can put out a tiny fruit that looks like a lime.  When it ripens the green skin opens to show two tiny black seeds that the birds like.  Its thorns make it a useful plant in buffer or screen area.  It will grow to 5-20 feet (height) and 2-12 feet (width).  It is evergreen, so it may provide some shade when it gets bigger.  On my Wild Lime tree, at least, the leaves are a yellow-green.  

This tree is host to for Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) and Schaus' Swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemus) in southern Florida. 

RESOURCES:

https://www.fnps.org/plants/plant/zanthoxylum-fagara

https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-zanthoxylum-fagara/#:~:text=Wild%20lime%20(Zanthoxylum%20fagara),for%20birds%20and%20small%20wildlife. 
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp619


                                              October 2018 - Three months after planting
                                   Wild Lime Tree with Pinelands lantana and Muhly grass

                                                          July 2018 - tiny lime fruits

                     September 2018 - the two fruits ripened, opened to offer shiny black seeds

                                June 2020 - a close-up of the foliage of my Wild Lime tree