Rangpur lime on the left, and persian lime on the right. The rangpur is a bit bigger than a golf ball. No, it is not an orange, it’s a lime.
Rangpur lime is one of the more unusual fruits at the Redland Organics tent. The fruit is round and greenish-orange, bigger than a persian lime and about the size of a golf ball. Its flavor is both tart and sweet, similar to tangerine. These limes don’t look like limes, but they are. You could use this instead of the usual lime for a different twist on flavor, and once you taste the fruit, you’re hooked. Recently, I had the chance to taste pie made with rangpur instead of key lime, and it was amazingly delicious, with an almost orange-y flavor but still tart, making key lime pie taste almost too sour by comparison.
If you want to try some of these unusual limes, I saw Farmer Margie had a bin full of them at the Roots in the City Farmers Market on Wednesday. If she didn’t sell out, there might be some available on Sunday at the Pinecrest market.
Half-devoured rangpur lime pie. I had to work fast to photograph it before it was all gone. Yes, it was that good!
These rangpur limes were grown at Possum Trot Tropical Fruit Nursery but originate from Rangpur, India, thus the name. Robert Barnum says he has a couple trees which he’s been growing for about 30 years. He claims these lime trees seem to resist canker and “tolerate” greening, two afflictions that have had quite an impact on Florida citrus. He said that most of the citrus he has on his property have died from greening, but rangpur lime is about the only one that still stands up to it.
If you are interested in growing your own rangpur lime, Robert has a few seedlings available for sale. To propogate this tree, you can air layer or grow from seed. This lime is fairly sturdy and will tolerate heat up to 130 degrees, along with too much sun, rain, or salt air. The tree reaches a height of 6 to 8 feet and spreads about 12 feet wide. It can be trained or pruned, and grows well in a container on a patio or balcony. It takes about 3 to 5 years to come to fruit when planted from seed.
Redland Rambles 
Good post! We are working on a backyard citrus story for our winter issue of edible South Florida and picked up some of these limes from Farmer Margie at Fairchild’s Ramble.T hese limes look so orange but taste so tart.
Glad you like my little write-up! Robert Barnum is obviously the one to talk to about rangpur lime. His contact info is on the blog in earlier posts. Greening is becoming a growing threat. It’s just a matter of time… Extension will have more info about that.
Great post! It is good to see some people still growing citrus trees in South Florida. Don’t give up on citrus, we will overcome citrus greening the same way we overcame canker. The stronger varieties/rootstocks will remain even if we have to lose some trees to citrus greening. It will just be a matter of time before the “greening” scare will be gone.
Adiel
Hi Marian,
You have a wonderful blog, I added a link to yours on mine. Question: can you please post the recipe for the rangpur lime pie? It looks delish and hard to resist! Thanks, Luca
I didn’t make the pie myself, but I’ll beg for the recipe. You could start with a typical key lime pie recipe and substitute rangpur lime juice instead. You can get rangpur limes from Redland Organics at various farmers markets.
I would like to purchase a Rangpur Lime seedling to be shipped to Hawaii. Please tell me if they are available, and Price including shipping charges. Also where will it be shipped from. Thank you for your time, James.
James,
I’m forwarding your email to Robert Barnum, the grower. Do a search for his name on my blog, and you will can his contact information yourself. I’m justt he blogger and have no idea wat he has in stock or if it can be shipped. Marian.
Hi, I was born and raised in Miami and now live in Silver Springs. We had a Rangpur lime tree in out back yard and love the limes. Since we left Miami I have not been able to find anyone who knew what I was talking about and did not have the correct spelling of the name. I am interested in purchasing a seedling. Would you please connect me with Mr. Barnun? Thanks Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, Aren’t the rangpurs delicious? Call Robert at 305-235-1768 or email possumplentious(at)yahoo.com to find out what he has available and/or what he can ship to you. Thanks for reading my blog. Marian