Editing Citrus aurantiifolia (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Ripekeylime.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Tree-ripened Key lime, yellow at full maturity. Photo by Marc Averette, CC BY 3.0.]]

Key lime forms a dense, bushy shrub or small tree with slender branches and short to medium thorns. The evergreen leaves are small, glossy, and elliptic to oblong, with narrowly winged petioles; crushed foliage is aromatic. Fragrant white flowers are borne in axillary clusters, with flowering possible throughout the year and a main flush commonly in spring.<sup id="cite_ref-4">[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-5">[[#cite_note-5|[5]]]</sup>

The fruit is round to oval, usually 38 to 51 mm across, with a thin smooth peel, 10 to 12 segments, greenish-yellow pulp, and a strong acidic aroma. Fruit is commonly picked green for culinary use and turns greenish-yellow to yellow as it ripens. Key lime is generally smaller, more aromatic, more acidic, and more seedy than Persian lime.<sup id="cite_ref-4">[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-5">[[#cite_note-5|[5]]]</sup>

The hybrid origin of Key lime has been described in different ways as citrus relationships have been revised. Genetic studies support a complex hybrid history involving citron, pummelo-related ancestry, and a small-fruited ''Citrus'' relative; this history does not make Key lime interchangeable with Persian lime or with every plant sold simply as lime.<sup id="cite_ref-6">[[#cite_note-6|[6]]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-7">[[#cite_note-7|[7]]]</sup>