Lime, similar to the green lemon also known as Mexican and Indian Lime, is a citrus fruit.   Limes originated from Asia and today are grown in many warm countries, largely in the West Indies, Italy and America.    Lime oil is a sharp citrus peel aroma more intense than lemon oil and is normally a top note in a perfume composition. 

There are other trees which are  called Lime tree such as ‘kafir’ and Indonesian Lime tree whose leaves are used in Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine, the linden tree in England, Spanish lime – unrelated Genip which is related to litchis and the very sweet limes used in North African and South American cuisines. 

Fun trivia - A ship’s crew in the British Royal Navy and/or Merchant Navy were dubbed a derogatory nickname "lime juicer' or the more popular and still used today slang “limey”.  Originating in the 1800s and because of the high volume of sailors having scurvy on deep-water ships, a series of Merchant Shipping Acts regulated conditions and the British deep-water sailors were issued daily a ration of lime juice. This was practiced due to the lime's source of Vitamin C.  Limes were readily available to Britain from their own Caribbean colonies which is why limes replaced the original use of lemon; however lemon juice was again put into use due the higher volume of vitamin C in the lemon when scurvy again became a problem. There being no such laws for their American counterparts the practice was thought "soft" hence the birth of the derogatory "limey" or "lime juicer" was born.  

There are other trees which are called Lime tree such as ‘kafir’ and Indonesian Lime tree whose leaves are used in Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine, the linden tree in England, Spanish lime – unrelated Genip which is related to litchis and the very sweet limes used in North African and South American cuisines.  Limes are used for their juices and medicinal purposes and their essentials oils in perfumery, aromatherapy and for flavoring purposes, especially in mineral waters and artificial lime-juice cordials, consisting of sweetened solutions of tartaric acid. Lime oil is colorless to pale yellow liquid having the characteristic flavor and aroma, which is found in the peel of the fruits, and is extracted by steam distillation. Mexican, Key or West Indian limes are great source of Lime oil. Clean, floral aroma is missing from oil derived from older fruit because the best-distilled lime oil comes from fresh raw lime fruits. Other species of Lime, which grown in Italy, yields an oil resembling Bergamot oil called Italian Limette oil which differs from the distilled West Indian oil of Limes.