''Limonia acidissima'' is the only species within the
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Limonia''. Common names for the species in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
include wood-apple and elephant-apple. It is sometimes also called monkey fruit.
Description
''Limonia acidissima'' is a large tree growing to tall, with rough, spiny bark. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets, each leaflet 25–35 mm long and 10–20 mm broad, with a
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...
-scent when crushed. The flowers are white and have five petals. The
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
is a berry 5–9 cm diameter, and may be sweet or sour. It has a very hard rind which can be difficult to crack open, it appears greenish-brown in colour from outside and contains sticky brown pulp and small white seeds. The fruit looks similar in appearance to the
Bael Bael may refer to:
*''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as the Bael tree
*Bael (demon)
* Bael (wrestler)
See also
* Baal (disambiguation)
* Bail (disambiguation)
Bail is the conditional release of an arrested person prior to their trial, or the mo ...
fruit ''(Aegle marmelos)''. It contains considerable amount of protein, carbohydrate, iron, fat, calcium, Vit-B & C etc. 100 g of ripe fruit pulp contains up to 49 KCal.
Taxonomy
A number of other species formerly included in the genus are now treated in the related genera ''
Atalantia
''Atalantia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, the Rutaceae.Swingle, W. T., rev. P. C. ReeceChapter 3: The Botany of ''Citrus'' and its Wild Relatives.In: ''The Citrus Industry'' vol. 1. Webber, H. J. (ed.). Berkeley: Universit ...
'', ''
Citropsis
''Citropsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. They are known generally as African cherry oranges.Swingle, W. T., rev. P. C. ReeceChapter 3: The Botany of ''Citrus'' and its Wild Relatives. In: ''The Citrus Industry' ...
'', ''
Citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...
'', ''
Glycosmis
''Glycosmis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae and tribe Clauseneae.''Gly ...
'', ''
Luvunga
''Luvunga'' is an Asian genus of plants in the family Rutaceae: tribe Citreae.
Species
The Catalogue of Life lists:
* '' Luvunga angustifolia''
* '' Luvunga borneensis''
* '' Luvunga calophylla''
* ''Luvunga crassifolia''
* '' Luvunga eleutheran ...
'', ''
Murraya
''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Micromelum'', '' Naringi'', '' Pamburus'', ''
Pleiospermium
''Pleiospermium'' is a genus of plant in family Rutaceae.
Species
, Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimat ...
Skimmia
''Skimmia'' is a genus of four species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the rue family Rutaceae, all native to warm temperate regions of Asia. The leaves are clustered at the ends of the shoots, simple, lanceolate, 6–21 cm long and ...
'', ''
Swinglea
''Swinglea'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Rutaceae. It only contains a single species, ''Swinglea glutinosa''.
It is native to the Philippines.
The genus name of ''Swinglea'' is in honour of Walter Tennyson Sw ...
'', and ''
Triphasia
''Triphasia'' is a small genus of three species in the family Rutaceae, related to ''Citrus''. The genus is native to southeastern Asia and New Guinea.Germplasm Resources Information Network''Triphasia''Huxley, A, ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary ...
''.
Distribution
''Limonia acidissima'' is native to India (including the Andaman Islands), Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The species has also been introduced to
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
and
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. Th ...
.
Uses
The fruit is used to make a fruit juice with
astringent
An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin ''adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian pla ...
properties and jams. Ripe fruit can be used as pickle (mashed with green chili pepper, sugar and salt only). Another species of this fruits are considered auspicious to be offered to
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
and
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
in pujas. A majority of Hindu temples will have a sacred tree within its compound and is known as the
Sthala Vriksha
A Sthala Vriksha (), also rendered Sthala Vruksham refers to a sacred tree associated with a site, most often a Hindu temple. Such trees form a prominent feature of koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style.
Besides the dominant feature of a ...
.
In Myanmar, the wood is used to make the distinctive local face cream
thanaka
Thanakha, also spelled Thanakha (; ), is a paste made from ground bark. It is a distinctive feature of the culture of Myanmar, seen commonly applied to the face and sometimes the arms of women and girls, and is used to a lesser extent also by men ...