The wild fruit that used to be full of no one picked, is now an extremely expensive and rare specialty, 3.5 million VND/kg

In recent years, in Vietnam, a strange and extremely expensive lemon has appeared, which is finger lime. According to research, finger lime has the scientific name Microcitrus australasica, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family, and is one of six species of lemons native to Australia.

Despite the extremely expensive price, few people know that the finger lime tree is a wild tree and was once planted as a hedge. Accordingly, this plant once grew wild in the eastern coastal rain forests of Australia. At that time, few people noticed this fruit, only indigenous people in Australia picked it up and used it as a common spice.

Finger limes grow wild in the eastern coastal rainforests of Australia

In terms of shape, the finger lime is cylindrical, 4-8cm long, thin peel, has many different colors such as green, blue-black, purple, burgundy or light red… Inside The intestines contain sparkling “jewels” of many colors, succulent, sweet and sour, not sour like lemons in Vietnam. They also have another nickname of salmon roe in the fruit world.

Thanks to its eye-catching color, finger lime is also often used to decorate luxurious and classy seafood dishes, creating a pleasant aroma.

Finger limes are extremely expensive, up to 3.5 million VND/kg

In recent years, finger limes have begun to be propagated in many parts of the world such as the US, some European countries, Thailand… but the output is not much. On the market, finger limes are sold in some imported fruit stores for up to 3.5 million VND/kg and are very rare, customers have to order a few weeks or even a month in advance to have the goods.

In Vietnam, there are people in the West who have successfully grown this lemon variety, giving income all year round. The owners of this strange lemon variety are husband and wife Mr. Dao Duy Anh and Ms. Duong Thi Kim Duyen – owners of Gia Thinh seedling establishment, in Hoa Thuan hamlet, Vinh Binh commune, Cho Lach district, Ben Tre province.

A husband couple in Ben Tre discovered and successfully planted finger lime tree in Vietnam

Mr. Duy Anh said that in 2015, he discovered a strange lemon variety with the shape of a finger, so he imported 20 trees for trial planting. Finger lime trees have smaller leaves than regular lemons and lots of thorns. When added to try, it was very fragrant, delicious, sour, light bar, so the couple propagated it to grow in the garden.

“Initially, when I cut the fruit in half, I found that inside there were hundreds of small seeds like sturgeon eggs, very strange. When eaten, it had a sour taste, not as much juice as a round lemon, and they had a very special aroma. “, Duy Anh said. He aims to give lemons to high-end restaurants, hotels or to supermarkets so that everyone can enjoy.

In Vietnam, lemons have also been successfully grown for year-round income

The owner of a Da Lat gardener said that after a year he imported and propagated several hundred trees and sold them for 300,000 – 400,000 VND a tree. His garden has some fruit trees but the output is not much, so it has not been released for sale on the market. According to the owner of this garden, the reason why finger limes are becoming a sought-after item is because they are not only unique but also contain many vitamins in them.

The inside of a nail lemon is very similar to sturgeon roe

Surveys on the market show that finger limes have not been sold commercially, but the seedling market is having a “fever” when many gardeners advertise for sale.