Aegle marmelos

General Description:

Aegle marmelos a moderate-sized, slender, aromatic tree, 12-18mt. in height and 90-120cm in girth, with a somewhat fluted bole of 3.0-4.5m, growing wild thorughout the deciduous forests on India, ascending to an altitude of c1,200 m in the western Himalayas and also occurring in Andaman Islands. It is extensively planted near Hindu temples for its leaves and wood which are used for worship, and for its edible fruits which are valued in indigenous medicine.

Branches armed with straight , sharp, axillary, 2.5cm long spines; barksoft, corky, light grey, exfoliating in irregular flakes; leaves attenuate, trifoliolate, occasionally digitately five-foliolate, leaflets ovate or ovate-lanceolate, crenate, acuminate, lateral sesile, terminal long-petioled; flowers large, greenish white, sweet-scented, in short axillary panicles; fruits globose, grey or yellowish, rind woody; seeds numerous, oblong, compressed embedded in sacs covered with thick orange-coloured sweet pulp. This plant is drought and frost resistant. It can grow in various type of soil and prefers a pH of 5-10. It can tolerate temperature below -7degree.