Life Span
Annual and Perennial
Perennial
Type
Herbaceous Perennial
Fruit
Origin
Northwestern United States, California, Canada
Southeastern Asia
Types
Stock, Tenweeks stock, Gillyflower, Brompton Stock
Citrus hystrix
Number of Varieties
751
0
40000
👆🏻
Habitat
Cultivated Beds
Deep, gardens, old gardens, Well Drained
USDA Hardiness Zone
5-99-11
0
99
👆🏻
AHS Heat Zone
12 - 1
12-8
Sunset Zone
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
H1, H2, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Habit
Upright/Erect
Oval or Rounded
Plant Size
Minimum Height
38.10 cm180.00 cm
0
3900
👆🏻
Minimum Width
20.30 cm240.00 cm
0
6350
👆🏻
Plant Color
Flower Color
Light Blue, Lavender, Blue Violet
White
Flower Color Modifier
Bicolor
Bicolor
Fruit Color
-
Yellow, Green, Yellow green
Leaf Color in Spring
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Summer
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Fall
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Winter
Light Green
Light Green
Shape
Leaf Shape
Oblanceolate , Ovate
Ovate
Thorns
✔
✘
✔
✘
Plant Season
Spring, Summer
Spring, Summer, Fall
Growing Conditions
Sunlight
Full Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Growth Rate
Very Fast
Fast
Type of Soil
Loam, Sand
Loam, Sand
The pH of Soil
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Acidic, Neutral
Soil Drainage
Well drained
Well drained
Bloom Time
Late Spring, Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer
Spring, Late Spring, Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer, Early Fall
Repeat Bloomer
✔
✘
✔
✘
Tolerances
Drought
Drought
Where to Plant?
Container, Ground
Ground
How to Plant?
Seedlings
Seedlings
Plant Maintenance
Medium
Medium
Watering Plants
Watering Requirements
Requires regular watering
Average Water Needs, Water Deeply
In Summer
Lots of watering
Lots of watering
In Spring
Moderate
Moderate
In Winter
Average Water
Average Water
Soil
Soil pH
Slightly Acidic
Acidic, Neutral
Soil Type
Sandy
Loam, Sand
Soil Drainage Capacity
-
Well drained
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Pruning
Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead branches, Remove dead leaves
Prune for shortening long shoots, Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead branches, Remove dead leaves, Thinning
Fertilizers
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer
Apply N-P-K, can go long without fertilizers
Pests and Diseases
-
Armored scales, Fomes root rot, Mites, Red blotch
Plant Tolerance
Drought
Cold climate, Drought, Heat And Humidity
Flowers
Showy
Insignificant
Flower Petal Number
Single
Single
Fruits
Showy Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Edible Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrance
Fragrant Flower
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Leaf
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Bark/Stem
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Foliage
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Bark
✔
✘
✔
✘
Foliage Texture
Fine
Medium
Foliage Sheen
Glossy
Glossy
Evergreen
✔
✘
✔
✘
Invasive
✔
✘
✔
✘
Self-Sowing
✔
✘
✔
✘
Attracts
Butterflies
Birds, Butterflies
Allergy
-
-
Uses
Aesthetic Uses
-
Bonsai
Beauty Benefits
-
-
Edible Uses
✔
✘
✔
✘
Environmental Uses
Air purification
Air purification
Plant Benefits
Medicinal Uses
Antidote, Aphrodisiac, Expectorant, Stomachic
Blood purifier, Digestion problems, Digestive disorders
Part of Plant Used
Flowers, Leaves, Seedpod
Fruits, Leaves
Other Uses
Used as a dye
Making Shampoo, Used as insect repellent
Used As Indoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Used As Outdoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Garden Design
-
Container, Edible, Fruit / Fruit Tree, Hedges, Mixed Border
Botanical Name
Matthiola incana
CITRUS hystrix
Common Name
Blue Thimble Flower, Field Gilia, Gillyflower
Kaffir Lime, Makrut
In Hindi
gillyflower
काफ़िर लाइम
In German
Garten-Levkoje
Kaffernlimette
In French
Gillyflower
combava
In Spanish
Gillyflower
cafre
In Greek
Gillyflower
Καφρός Lime
In Portuguese
Matthiola incana
Kaffir Lime
In Polish
Gillyflower
kaffir wapno
In Latin
Matthiola incana
Cafres Lime
Kingdom
Plantae
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Magnoliopsida
Order
Capparales
Sapindales
Family
Polemoniaceae
Rutaceae
Genus
Gilia
Citrus
Clade
Angiosperms, Asterids, Eudicots
Angiosperms, Eudicots, Rosids
Tribe
Gilieae
-
Subfamily
Polemonioideae
-
Number of Species
25400
1
27800
👆🏻