The meaning of the symbols of lime seen in a dream.

FAMILY: Rutaceae

SYNONYMS: C. medica var. acida, C. latifolia, Mexican lime, West Indian lime, sour lime.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A small evergreen tree up to 4.5 metres high, with stiff sharp spines, smooth ovate leaves and small white flowers. The bitter fruit is a pale green colour, about half the size of a lemon.

DISTRIBUTION: Probably native to south Asia; naturalized in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is cultivated mainly in south Florida, the West Indies (Cuba), Central America (Mexico) and Italy.

OTHER SPECIES: There are several species of lime such as the Italian lime (C. limetta) which is used to produce an oil called ‘limette’; and the leech-lime (C. hystrix) which is occasionally used to produce an essential oil called combava.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: The fruit is often used indiscriminately in place of lemon with which it shares many qualities. It is used for similar purposes including fever, infections, sore throat, colds, etc. It used to be used as a remedy for dyspepsia with glycerin of pepsin.

ACTIONS: Antirheumatic, antiscorbutic, antiseptic, antiviral, aperitif, bactericidal, febrifuge, restorative, tonic.

EXTRACTION: Essential oil by 1. cold expression of the peel of the unripe fruit; the expressed oil is preferred in perfumery work, and 2. steam distillation of the whole ripe crushed fruit (a by-product of the juice industry).

CHARACTERISTICS: 1. A pale yellow or olive-green liquid with a fresh, sweet, citrus-peel odour. 2. A water-white or pale yellow liquid with a fresh, sharp, fruity-citrus scent. It blends well with neroli, citronella, lavender, lavandin, rosemary, clary sage and other citrus oils.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Limonene, pinenes, camphene, sabinene, citral, cymene, cineols and linalol, among others. The expressed ‘peel’ oil, but not the ‘whole fruit’ oil, also contains coumarins.

SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant, nonsensitizing. However, the expressed ‘peel’ oil is phototoxic (but not the steam-distilled ‘whole fruit’ oil).

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE See lemon.

OTHER USES: Both oils, but mainly the expressed, are used as fragrance components in soaps, detergents, cosmetics and perfumes. Mainly the distilled oil, but also the terpeneless oil, is used by the food industry, especially in soft drinks – ‘lemon and lime’ flavour. The juice is used for the production of citric acid.