Publication
from Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0
by C. Orwa, A. Mutua, R. Kindt, R. Jamnadass and S. Anthony
Averrhoa
bilimbi L.
Local Names:Creole
(bimbling
plum, blimblin); English (cucumber tree, bilimbi, tree sorrel);
Filipino (kamias); French (blimblim, blinblin, cornichon des Indes,
zibeline blonde, zibeline, carambolier bilimbi); Indonesian (belimbing
asam, belimbing wuluh); Khmer (tralong tong); Malay (belimbing buloh,
belimbing asam, b'ling, billing-billing); Spanish (tiriguro, pepino de
Indias, mimbro, grosella china, vinagrillo); Thai (kaling pring, taling
pling)
Family: OXALIDACEAE
Botanic
Description
Averrhoa
bilimbi is an
attractive, long-lived tree, reaching 5-10 m in height; has a short
trunk soon dividing into a number of upright branches. Leaves mainly
clustered at the branch tips, are alternate, imparipinnate; 30-60 cm
long, with 11-37 alternate or subopposite leaflets, ovate or oblong,
with rounded base and pointed tip; downy; medium-green on the upper
surface, pale on the underside; 2-10 cm long, 1.2-1.25 cm wide.
Flowers
small, fragrant, auxiliary or cauliflorous, 5-petalled, yellowish-
green or purplish marked with dark-purple, 10-22 mm long, borne in
small, hairy panicles emerging directly from the trunk and oldest,
thickest branches and some twigs, as do the clusters of curious fruits.
Fruit
ellipsoid, obovoid or nearly cylindrical, faintly 5-sided, 4-10 cm
long; capped by a thin, star-shaped calyx at the stem-end and tipped
with 5 hair- like floral remnants at the apex. Crispy when unripe, the
fruit turns from bright green to yellowish-green, ivory or nearly white
when ripe and falls to the ground. The outer skin is glossy, very thin,
soft and tender, and the flesh green, jelly-like, juicy and extremely
acid.
There may be a few (6-7) flattened, disc-like seeds, 6 mm wide, smooth,
brown.
The generic name is after Averrhoes (1126-98), the widely known Arab
philosopher.
Biology
In India as in
Florida, the tree begins to flower around February and then blooms and
fruits more or less continuously until December.
Ecology
A. bilimbi
is a tropical tree, more sensitive to cold than A. carambola,
especially when very young. Ideally, it prefers seasonally humid
climates, rainfall should be rather evenly distributed throughout most
of the year but there should be a 2-3 month dry season. The tree makes
slow growth in shady or semi-shady situations. It should be in full sun.
Biophysical
Limits
Altitude: 0-1200 m
Soil
types: The tree does best in rich, moist, slightly acidic, well-drained
soil, but also grows and fruits quite well on sand or limestone
Documented
Species Distribution
Native:
Indonesia, Malaysia
Exotic: Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guyana, India, Jamaica,
Myanmar, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Surinam,
Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, US, Venezuela
The
map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does
neither suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological
zone within that country, nor that the species can not be planted in
other countries than those depicted. Since some tree species are
invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to your
planting site.
Products
Food:
A. bilimbi
is generally regarded as too acidic for eating raw, but in Costa Rica,
the green, uncooked fruits are prepared as a relish which is served
with rice and beans or an accompaniment for fish and meat. Ripe fruits
are frequently added to curries in the Far East. They yield 44.2% juice
having a pH of 4.47, and the juice is popular for making cooling
beverages. Mainly, the bilimbi is used in place of mango to make
chutney, and it is much preserved. To reduce acidity, it may be first
pricked and soaked in water overnight, or soaked in salted water for a
shorter time; then it is boiled with much sugar to make a jam or an
acid jelly. The latter, in Malaysia, is added to stewed fruits that are
oversweet. Half-ripe fruits are salted, set out in the sun, and pickled
in brine and can be thus kept for 3 months. A quicker pickle is made by
putting the fruits and salt into boiling water. This product can be
kept only 4-5 days. The flowers are sometimes preserved with sugar.
Timber:
The wood is white, soft but tough, even-grained, and weighs 35 lbs/cu
ft. It is seldom available for carpentry.
Medicine:
In the Philippines, the leaves are applied as a paste or poulticed on
itches, swellings of mumps and rheumatism, and on skin eruptions.
Elsewhere, they are applied on bites of poisonous creatures. Malaysians
take the leaves fresh or fermented as a treatment for venereal disease.
A leaf infusion is a remedy for coughs and is taken after childbirth as
a tonic. A leaf decoction is taken to relieve rectal inflammation. A
flower infusion is said to be effective against coughs and thrush. In
Java, the fruits combined with pepper are eaten to cause sweating when
people are feeling "under the weather". A paste of pickled bilimbis is
smeared all over the body to hasten recovery after a fever. The fruit
conserve is administered as a treatment for coughs, beri-beri and
biliousness. Syrup prepared from the fruit is taken as a cure for fever
and inflammation and to stop rectal bleeding and alleviate internal
hemorrhoids.
Other products:
Very acid fruits are employed to clean the blade of a kris (dagger),
and they serve as mordants in the preparation of an orange dye for silk
fabrics. Because of its oxalic acid content, fruit juice is useful for
bleaching stains from the hands and rust from white cloth, and also
tarnish from brass.
Services
Ornamental:
Bilimbi is also grown in home gardens due to its attractive small
purplish-red flowers borne in clusters along the trunk and branches.
Bilimbi is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds.
Germplasm
Management
The
storage behaviour is intermediate and seed viability can be maintained
for six months with partially dried (about 70% of harvest weight) seeds
stored at 5ºC. To break dormancy, seeds should be soaked for 24 hours
before planting. Seeds should germinate in 14-21 days.
Further
Reading
Jensen M.
1995. Trees commonly cultivated in Southeast Asia: An illustrated
guide. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP). Bangkok,
Thailand.
Mackeen MM, Ali AM, El Sharkawy SH, Manap MY, Salleh KM,
Lajis NH, Kawazu K. 1997. Antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties of
some Malaysian traditional vegetables (ulam). International Journal of
Pharmacognosy. 35(3): 174-178.
Morton J. 1987. Bilimbi. p. 128-129. In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia
F. Morton, Miami, Florida.
Nagy
S, Shaw PE, Wardowski WF (eds.). 1991. Fruits of tropical and
subtropical origin: composition, properties and uses. Florida Science
Source, Inc. Lake Alfred, Florida.
Pushpakumara DKNG. 2007. Chapter 18: Biling Averrhoa bilimbi
L.: In: Pushpakumara DKNG, Gunasena HPM, Singh VP. 2007. eds.
Underutilized fruit trees in Sri Lanka. World Agroforestry Centre,
South Asia Office, New Delhi, India. p. 452-463.
Warren JM, Emamdie
DZ, Kalai. 1997. Reproductive allocation and pollinator distributions
in cauliflorus trees in Trinidad. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 13(3):
337-345
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