Double leaf. You can find pictures on the internet.
Plus, it'll smell like kaffir lime when you rub the leaf.

HTH.

M, Kaffir's have two lobes on leaves. In other words, they don't resemble a regular leaf..it looks like two leaves in one, shaped like an 8..Toni

Thanks, folks! I did not realize that only kaffir lime has double leaves. Growing up in India, all our lime trees had double leaves, however the fruit did not get knobby as the kaffir does. That was the common lime ( dont know the latin name) and the only one we used all the time! Interesting !
M

I did some research online and realized that what some of us had growing from the root stock is probably CITRUS TAIWANICA and not Kaffir (Citrus hystrix). This species alos has double leaves (winged petiole) and is very cold hardy! No wonder we have this as our rootstock :)
M

M, so I'm growing C. Taiwantica instead of Kaffir? Amazing..So, should I remove or toss this tree? Am I only growing rootstock instead of the citrus I thought it was? Toni

Hi Toni,
I am going to keep the tree just coz it seems to be the only cold hardy citrus for my zone!! Also, if is is indeed the same one in India that I grew up with, it certainly is one tasty lime!! and I love the fragnance of the flowers anyway, so mine stays :)
M

M, then I'll keep mine too..lol.Do u have a picturs of yours? I'd likt to compare mine and yours..Toni

Aloha hulagal,
yes that is true! I went to the local nursery yesterday and to my surprize found a grapefruit tree that has double leaves. So, now I a not sure what my root stock is, but I will grow it anyway !!
And Toni, I would love to post pics except that GW makes it so hard to do so!! I have all my pics on my computer and I cannot attach these directly to my post. and not even link it to imagestation where I upload all my pics. I have to put them on photobucket individually?? Is there a better way to do this?
Toni, you got mail :) I sent you an email asking about a houseplant swap. Plmk.
M

i have a seedling that came up from nowhere,so i have
no idea of what it is.it bore fruit about the second or third year in a pot.i searched the internet and found a matching foto of the fruit.it looks exactly like the kaffir lime.but it does not have the double leaf.it tastes like a lemon with a slightly disernable sweet taste.the tree is about two and a half feet tall and has about 17 limes.can it be a kaffir lime?

As far as I know all Citrus hystrix (Kaffir lime) has the double leaf and the fruit is very distinctive looking. It's green and really lumpy, bumpy. It has a very strong scent if you scratch the rind. I don't find the taste sweet at all and only use it for cooking. I mainly use the leaves but I have used the zest and juice also.
Karyn

Hi Mrao77,

Doesn't sound like you have fruit yet. I have a few kaffir lime trees and the smell of the leaf is significantly more fragrant than any of my other citrus trees. Think Thai restaurant.

Either way, i would keep the tree until you get fruit. If it's a rootstock, it will be pretty bitter/sour. Believe me, Went on a tour at UCR and bit into the fruit of everything from flying dragon to about 10 different kinds of trifoliate orange. Blech!!!! Not sure why I kept going actually... Maybe you can graft onto it if it is rootstock?

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:587093}}