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Unlocking the Sublime: A Review of Native Australian Citrus Species
Joel B Johnson1, Natasha L Hungerford2, Yasmina Sultanbawa1
1Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Health and Food Sciences Precinct, Coopers Plains, Brisbane, QLD 4108, Australia.
Abstract:
Citrus fruit are well-known for their characteristic flavour and nutritional value. Global citrus production has increased by 528% between 1961 and 2021, and in Australia, citrus is the most exported fresh fruit product by volume. There are six described Citrus species endemic to Australia: C. australasica (Australian finger lime), C. australis (round lime), C. garrawayi (Mount White lime), C. glauca (desert lime), C. gracilis (Humpty Doo lime), and C. inodora (Russell River lime). Australian Citrus possess unique flavours, aromas, and phytochemical profiles, suggesting a potential use as novelty crops and/or 'functional foods'. Furthermore, the native Australian Citrus germplasm is a valuable source of desirable traits in citrus breeding, including drought, cold, heat, salinity, and disease resistance. These may help solve some challenges facing citrus growers globally, including disease, a declining soil quality, changing climates, and narrowing profit margins. However, many Australian citrus species' nutritional value, chemical composition, and bioactive properties remain unknown. This review focuses on these under-investigated native Citrus species, their distribution, production, physiology, disease tolerance, traditional use, taxonomy, flavour, nutritional composition, bioactivity, and commercial production. It concludes with a perspective on the future of these native species in the Australian and global citrus context.
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