Bael (Aegle marmelos)

Family: Rutaceae. A beautiful subtropical, evergreen, slow-growing tree, reaching up to 3 m (sometimes up to 10 m) with fragrant flowers, native to the dry forests and plains of southern India and Burma, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Cultivated widely in India, Indonesia, on Ceylon, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, in Suriname and the southern United States.

It is a fruit and medicinal plant. In India the plant is considered sacred. Leaves are trifoliate, with small serrations along the margin, borne on long petioles. Branches are spreading, with sparse spines. It flowers with greenish-yellow, fragrant flowers. The fruits are shaped like a round lemon, 5-15 cm in diameter. Unripe fruits are grayish-yellow, and bright orange when fully ripe. The pulp is very aromatic, jelly-like, and sweet in taste. Each fruit contains 10-15 seeds. On average, fruits mature in 10-11 months. Fruits are eaten fresh, used to prepare drinks (one of the most popular in India is called "Sherbet") and marmalade. Young leaves and seeds are used in salads (in Thailand).

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