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How did arsenic poisoning lead to Key limes?

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By Chelsie Vandaveer

February 18, 2003

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The Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) is a vigorous, thorny shrub/tree growing from 2 to 4 meters (6 to 13 feet). Planted in frost-free areas, limes mostly take care of themselves. This lime was well-known in the Levant (eastern Mediterranean) having arrived there by the Arabic caravans of the first "Silk Road" trade routes before the fall of the Roman Empire. It remained unknown to Europeans until the Crusades (1095-1270 CE).

Along with other citrus, the Spanish planted seeds of the lime wherever they landed. According to Julia F. Morton ("Mexican Lime", Fruits of Warm Climates, 1987), the limes were growing on Haiti in 1520. They were probably introduced to Mexico shortly after the fall of the Aztec Empire that same year.

Fruit Trees, Dwarf Key Lime Flowers and Fragrance, Too!

Evergreen foliage, sweetly scented flowers and edible fruit in one! Can be moved outdoors in summer, so the bees take care of pollination for you. Varieties grow from 2-5 feet tall. Pick citrus in 1-3 years, figs and pomegranuates in 2-4 years and bananas in 3-5 years.

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According to Jerry Wilkinson, a Keys historian, Dr. Henry Perrine practiced medicine in Illinois in the 1820s. He frequently treated patients for malaria and became accustomed to taking a preventative dose of Peruvian bark (quinine) whenever he was called out at night. The quinine and dosage cup remained where he could easily find them in the dark. But earlier one day, his dosage cup was used to measure arsenic. It was replaced without being washed. Perrine was poisoned and although receiving medical attention within hours, he never fully recovered.

Perrine looked to warmer climates; he was appointed as U.S. Consul in the Yucatan and took an interest in tropical plants. He later received a land-grant from Congress and settled in the Florida Keys bringing along his collection of plants including the "Mexican limes". Because of unrest with the native population, Perrine and his family moved to Indian Key in 1838. Dr. Perrine was killed during the Second Seminole War in 1840. His family survived by hiding under the house.

Dr. Perrine's Mexican limes also survived. By the 1880s, his odd little limes were common dooryard trees. After the destruction of the pineapple industry by the 1906 hurricane, Perrine's Key limes became the substitute crop and the preferred lime in many master chefs' recipes.

The Vascular Plant Image Library of Texas A & M University has a photograph of a regular lime and a "Key lime". To view the photograph taken by Monique Reed, click on the link:

http://botany.cs.tamu.edu/FLORA/pic1/limes.jpg

The Historical Preservation Society of the Upper Keys has posted many great articles on the early settlement of the Florida Keys. To learn more, click on the link:

http://www.keyshistory.org

The Florida State Parks has posted a page about Indian Key, now preserved as a historic site. To learn more about Indian Key, click on the link:

http://www.abfla.com/parks/IndianKey/indiankey.html

Key limes have a unique flavor used in many famous recipes. Nellie and Joe's Key West Lime Juice Company has a number of tropical recipes using key lime juice. To get a taste of the tropics, click on the link:

http://keylimejuice.com/recipes.htm

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