''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 "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Limonia''. Common names for the species in English 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 A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

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 family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

-scent when crushed. The flowers are white and have five petals. The large

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

5–9 cm diameter, and may be sweet or sour. It has a very hard rind similar to a rock which can be cracked 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 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 of

food energy Food energy is chemical energy that animals and humans derive from food to sustain their metabolism and muscular activity. Most animals derive most of their energy from aerobic respiration, namely combining the carbohydrates, fats, and protein ...

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'', ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

'', ''

Glycosmis ''Glycosmis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae and tribe Clauseneae. It is in the subfamily Aurantioideae, which also includes genus ''Citrus''. It is a genus of the subtribe Clauseninae, which are known technically ...

'', '' Luvunga'', ''

Murraya ''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Micromelum ''Micromelum'' is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae. Description The genus includes evergreen and deciduous shrubs and trees. The leaves are glandular and aromatic, containing essential oils. They are alternatel ...

'', '' Naringi'', '' Pamburus'', '' Pleiospermium'', '' Severinia'', ''

Skimmia ''Skimmia'' is a genus of four species of evergreen dioecious 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 c ...

'', ''

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 The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

), Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The species has also been introduced to

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) 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 th ...

and

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. It is a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical kingdom. It was first recognized as a distinct region ...

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". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...

properties and jams. Ripe fruit can be used as pickle (mashed with green chili pepper, sugar and salt only). In some parts of India, mainly Gujarat, the fruit pulp is used to make chutney which is then used as a main condiment in and on top of meals, especially in winter. In Tamil Nadu, the wood apple is ubiquitous, the ripe fruit is eaten mixed with sugar or other sweetener. The name of the wood apple (''vilam'') is used as the canonical example of a two-syllable prosodic foot in traditional Tamil song. In Myanmar, the wood is used to make the distinctive local face cream

thanaka Thanaka (; ) 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 and boys. History Thana ...

Nutrition

Gallery

File:Limonia acidissima of Salem.jpg, Woodapple fruit File:wood-apple dec2007.jpg, Opened woodapple fruit File:Woodapple juice 14.jpg, A glass of woodapple juice

References

External links

*
Purdue-hort_edu: The Wood ApplePandanus Database - ''Limonia''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q935616, from2=Q15943539 Aurantioideae Fruits originating in Asia Citrus Flora of the Indian subcontinent Flora of the Andaman Islands Fruit trees Trees in Buddhism Plants in Hinduism