SimplePlant

Rutaceae

Key lime

Citrus aurantiifolia (Christm.) Swingle

Family
Rutaceae
Genus
Citrus

Pets and kids

  • CatsToxic
  • DogsToxic
  • KidsMildly toxic
Why

Cats: Toxic

Toxic to cats (moderate). Toxic principle: Essential oils and psoralens.

Signs: Vomiting, Diarrhea, Depression, Dermatitis.

Dogs: Toxic

Toxic to dogs (moderate). Toxic principle: Essential oils and psoralens.

Signs: Vomiting, Diarrhea, Depression, Dermatitis.

Kids: Mildly toxic

Mildly toxic to young children. Toxic principle: Essential oils and psoralens.

Signs: vomiting, diarrhea, depression, dermatitis.

Key lime: Digital photo taken by Marc Averette. Tree-ripened en:key lime . Color is a bright yellow, unlike the more common green Persian limes.
Photo: Averette at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Is Key lime safe for cats, dogs and kids?

Is Key lime safe for cats?

No. Our sources call Key lime toxic to cats (moderate). Toxic principle: Essential oils and psoralens. Signs: Vomiting, Diarrhea, Depression, Dermatitis.

Is Key lime safe for dogs?

No. Our sources call Key lime toxic to dogs (moderate). Toxic principle: Essential oils and psoralens. Signs: Vomiting, Diarrhea, Depression, Dermatitis.

Is Key lime safe for kids?

No. Our sources call Key lime mildly toxic to young children. Toxic principle: Essential oils and psoralens. Signs: vomiting, diarrhea, depression, dermatitis.

Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.

See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.

Similar names and close relatives

A shared name doesn't mean a shared answer: check the exact plant.

  • Lemon Citrus limonsame genusCats: Mildly toxic; Dogs: Mildly toxic; Kids: Mildly toxic
  • Mandarin orange Citrus reticulatasame genusCats: Not sure; Dogs: Not sure; Kids: Not sure
  • Shaddock Citrus maximasame genusCats: Not sure; Dogs: Not sure; Kids: Not sure
  • Bitter orange Citrus × aurantiumsame genusCats: Mildly toxic; Dogs: Mildly toxic; Kids: Mildly toxic
  • Citron Citrus medicasame genusCats: Not sure; Dogs: Not sure; Kids: Not sure
  • Small-leaved lime Tilia cordatasimilar nameCats: Not sure; Dogs: Not sure; Kids: Not sure

Common names

By language (63)
Arabic
ليمون بلدي, ليمون بنزهير
Armenian
Լայմ
arz
ليمون بلدى
Asturian
Limera
ba
Лайм
Bangla
কাগজি লেবু, লেবু
bjn
Limau kuit
Burmese
သံပုရာပင်
Cantonese
墨西哥青檸
Catalan
Llimona àcida
Chinese
墨西哥莱檬, 墨西哥萊檬, 萊姆, 来檬, 枳壳, 绿檬, 墨西哥青檸
Croatian
Limeta
Czech
Citroník kyselý lajm
dag
Nyomsili
dsb
Limeta
Dutch
Limoenboom
English
Key lime, C. aurantifolia
Esperanto
Limeujo
Filipino
Dayap
French
Citronnier galet, Lime acide, Limettier des Antilles, Limettier mexicain
frr
Echt Limet
Galician
Limeira
Georgian
Ლაიმი
German
Echte Limette
Hebrew
קי ליים
Hindi
कागजी नींबू
hsb
Limeta
Hungarian
Lime, Savanyú citrom, Zöldcitrom
Icelandic
Límóna
Indonesian
Jeruk nipis, Jeruk limau, Jeruk limo, Jeruk pecel
Italian
Lime, Limetta
Japanese
メキシカンライム, キーライム, マナオ
Javanese
Jeruk nipis, Jeruk Sambal
Korean
키라임
kw
Limaval Key
Lithuanian
Rūgščiavaisis citrinmedis
Luxembourgish
Limett, Limoun
mad
Jherruk palappa, Jherruk bujhel
Malay
Limau nipis, Pokok Limau Nipis
Malayalam
വടുകപ്പുളി നാരകം, Key lime, കടുകപ്പുളി നാരകം, കടുകപ്പുളിനാരകം, വടുകപ്പുളി, വടുകപ്പുളിനാരകം
min
Asam kapeh
mnw
ပၞဴ
nah
Limōncuahuitl, Limoncuahuitl
Nepali
ज्यामिर
os
Лайм
Persian
لیموی کی
Polish
Lima
Portuguese
Lima comum
Punjabi
ਕਾਗਜ਼ੀ ਨਿੰਬੂ
Romanian
Limetă
Russian
Лайм настоящий, Лайм кислый, Лайм мексиканский
shn
တူၼ်ႈမၢၵ်ႇၽႃႈ, တူၼ်ႈမၢၵ်ႇၼၢဝ်း, မၢၵ်ႇၽႃႈ
Slovenian
Limeta
Sundanese
Jeruk mipis, Jeruk limo
Swahili
Mndimu
Tamil
தேசி
Tatar
Лайм
Telugu
పులుసునిమ్మ, పులుసు నిమ్మ, పులుసు నిమ్మచెట్టు, పులుసునిమ్మచెట్టు
Thai
มะนาว, Lime, ส้มนาว
Tongan
Laimi
ty
Tāporo
Ukrainian
Лайм
Vietnamese
Chanh ta

Synonyms

  • Citrus acida Roxb.
  • Citrus amblycarpa Ochse
  • Citrus aurantiifolia subsp. murgetana García Lidón & al.
  • Citrus davaoensis (Wester) Yu.Tanaka
  • Citrus depressa var. voangasay Bory
  • Citrus excelsa Wester
  • Citrus excelsa var. davaoensis Wester
  • Citrus hystrix subsp. acida Engl.
  • Citrus javanica Blume
  • Citrus lima Macfad.
  • Citrus lima Lunan
  • Citrus lima Raf.
  • Citrus limonellus Hassk.
  • Citrus limonellus var. amblycarpa Hassk.
  • Citrus limonellus var. oxycarpus Hassk.
  • Citrus longispina Wester
  • Citrus macrophylla Wester
  • Citrus medica f. aurantifolia (Christm.) M.Hiroe
  • Citrus medica var. acida Brandis
  • Citrus montana (Wester) Yu.Tanaka
  • Citrus nipis Michel
  • Citrus notissima Blanco
  • Citrus ovata Hassk.
  • Citrus papaya Hassk.
  • Citrus pseudolimonum Wester
  • Citrus spinosissima G.Mey.
  • Citrus voangasay (Bory) Bojer
  • Citrus webberi var. montana Wester
  • Limonia aurantiifolia Christm.
  • Limonia aurantiifolia Christm.

Flowers

In flower
November (from 7 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Photos

More in Citrus

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.