WHAT’S IN A NAME?
People ask us, “How did you come up with your company name Wild Lime Adventures?”
Here’s the story:
Because our tours focus on exploring the Florida that is off the beaten path from other typical Floridian tourist destinations, we wanted a representative species that would be emblematic of “Old Florida”. The wild lime tree (Zanthoxylum fagara) is a small, pretty tree native to South Florida and other parts of the Caribbean.
The wild lime tree grows as an understory tree in hammocks and coastal upland plant communities and tends to be found mainly on the leeward side of the coastal dune areas of South Florida. The tree has some interesting ethnobotany: The Seminole Indians used the wood to make bows and arrows and it is prized for furniture making.
The leaves and bark can be crushed to make a pungent condiment. The fruit is edible (but requires great effort to collect since the fruit is quite tiny) and the fruit can be used as a numbing agent.
The aromatic flowers and fruits attract bees and other pollinators but the best visitor to the wild lime tree is the giant swallowtail (Papillo cresphontes) butterfly. The giant swallowtail is the largest butterfly in North America and it is quite striking!
The giant swallowtail females lay their eggs on the newly formed leaves which serve as food for the emerging caterpillars.
This complex interdependence between the indigenous flora and fauna inspired our company name and logo.
We encourage you to come along with us as we “Find the Real Florida”
(954) 673-6647
