Aegle marmelos

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Photographs by: Dr. Maulik Gadani

  • Botanical Name : Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa
  • Common Name : Bili, Stone apple, Wood apple
  • Plant Family : Rutaceae
  • Plant Form : Tree
  • Occurrence (Sectors) : 1, 4 - 8, 12 - 16, 19 - 25, 27
  • Occurrence (Special Areas) : Gujarat Forestry Research Foundation, Indroda Park, Ayurvedic Udyan, Punit Van, Van Chetana Kendra, Basan, Aranya Van

About Aegle marmelos Plant :

  • Habit : A thorny deciduoustree, with grayish - white or grayish - brown, smoothbark.
  • Stem : Woody, erect, cylindrical and branched.
  • Leaves : Exstipulate, petiolate, compound, trifoliate, leaflets ovate - elliptic or elliptic - lanceolate, glabrous.
  • Inflorescence : Axillary panicles.
  • Flowers :
    • Bracteate, complete, actinomorphic, hypogynous, pentamerous, Flowers greenish or creamy white.
    • Calyx 5, gamosepalous.
    • Corolla 5, polypetalous, imbricate.
    • Androecium with many stamens, polyandrous, dithecous, introrse.
    • Gynoecium pentacarpellary, syncarpous, superior, multilocular, axile placentation.
  • Fruits : Berries 6 - 10 cm across, globose or sub-globose, with rough rind; rind greenish-white, on ripening yellow.
  • Seeds : obliquely lenticular or oblong, wrinkled, pale - brown, glabrous.
  • Flowering and Fruiting time : January - May, February - July.
  • Significance :
    • The bark of the tree yields a yellow dye, which was used for dyeing wool and linen.
    • The tree provides good timber and the wood is used in furniture, buildings, agricultural implements, turnery, bobbins etc. It is also very good timber for flooring and paneling.
    • The bark is used as an antiseptic.
    • The roots are used as astringent in dysentery.
    • The tree has a religious significance in Hindu marriage rituals.
    • It is excellent for bobbins and suitable for battery separators.