From Plant
Resources of South-East Asia No 2: Edible fruits and nuts, PROSEA
Foundation
by D. T. Jones
Taxon
Limonia acidissima
L.
Protologue
Sp. Pl., ed. 2, 1: 554 (1762).
Family
RUTACEAE
Chromosome
Numbers
2n = 18
Synonyms
Feronia
elephantum Correa (1800), Feronia limonia (L.)
Swingle (1914).
Vernacular
Names
Wood
apple, elephant apple (En). Pomme d'éléphant (Fr). Indonesia: kawista
(Java), kusta (Bali). Malaysia: belinggai, gelinggai. Burma: thibin.
Cambodia: kramsang. Laos: mafit. Thailand: makhwit (central), mafit
(northern). Vietnam: cân thâng.
Origin and
Geographic Distribution
Wood
apple occurs naturally in India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Indo-China, where
it is limited to the drier regions. It is cultivated in villages and
parks throughout its natural range, and in Malaysia and Indonesia
(Java, Bali) where it has even become naturalized (western Java). It
was introduced long ago into the United States (California, Florida)
for experimental purposes.
Uses
The
fresh pulp of the ripe
fruit is mixed with sugar and eaten like sherbet, with or without the
seeds, or made into a type of treacle. In Sri Lanka wood apple cream is
processed from the fruit pulp. In India the fruit is used in the same
manner as the closely related bael fruit (Aegle marmelos (L.)
Correa) but is not a substitute for it. The ripe fruits display
cooling, astringent and tonic properties, and are used as a stomachic.
In Indo-China, the spines and bark of the tree are used in several
medicinal preparations for the treatment of excessive menstruation,
liver disorders, bites and stings, and nausea. The timber is employed
in the construction of houses, posts and agricultural tools. Gum
collected from the bark is said to have medicinal value, and is used as
a substitute for gum arabic.
Production
and International Trade
Wood
apple is cultivated as a homegarden tree in villages, hence fruits
become available in markets only in small quantities. In Bali
(Indonesia) in the late 1980s fruit fetched Rp. 150 a piece (US$ 0.09)
during the high season. It has recently become an economically
important commodity in Sri Lanka where wood apple cream is canned and
exported.
Properties
Wood apple pulp
represents about one-third of the whole fruit. Pectin content of fresh
pulp is 3—5%. Per 100 g edible portion, the approximate contents of the
pulp are: water 74 g, protein 8 g, fat 1.5 g, carbohydrates 7.5 g, ash
5 g. The seeds contain per 100 g edible portion: water 4 g, protein 26
g, fat 27 g, carbohydrates 35 g and ash 5 g. The dried pulp contains
15% citric acid and small quantities of potassium, calcium and iron
salts. The wood is yellowish-white, hard, rather heavy and coarsely
fibrous but close-grained and takes a fine polish.
Botany
A small, deciduous
tree up to 12 m tall, with numerous, slender branches armed with sharp,
straight spines to 4 cm long. Leaves up to 12 cm long, imparipinnate
with narrowly winged rachis and petiole; leaflets opposite in 2—3 pairs
and a terminal one, obovate, up to 4 cm long, dotted with oil glands
and faintly aromatic when crushed. Staminate and perfect flowers,
5-merous, white, green or reddish-purplish, usually together in lax,
terminal or axillary inflorescences. Fruit a hard-shelled, globose
berry, up to 10 cm diameter, with whitish scurfy surface and filled
with pinkish, aromatic pulp containing numerous, slimy seeds. Seeds 5—6
mm long, hairy, with thick, green cotyledons; germination epigeal.
Seedling stem slender, slightly zigzag: first 1—4 leaves unifoliolate.
Trees
reveal a simple developmental pattern of leafing, flowering and
fruiting in a single year. In South-East Asia, leaves are shed in
January, flowering begins in February or March, and fruits ripen in
October or November. Trees grow slowly and will not produce fruits
until the 15th year or later.
Ecology
Wood apple, like the bael and species of Feroniella
Swingle, thrives in a monsoon or seasonally dry tropical climate. It
grows to an elevation of 450 m in the western Himalaya where it is
native. In Malaysia and Indonesia trees are predominantly cultivated in
the coastal regions. It is apparently drought-tolerant and best adapted
to light soils.
Agronomy
Plants can be
propagated by seed, root-cuttings and budding. Seeds germinate after
2—3 weeks in the nursery; 80% germination may be achieved for seed
stored for several weeks. Buds from mature wood grafted onto seedlings
are said to result in dwarf trees which fruit early.
Genetic
Resources and Breeding
Wood apple can be used as a rootstock for Citrus species in the same
way as Poncirus
trifoliata
(L.) Raf., also a deciduous citrus relative. The wood apple stock
promptly forces the citrus scion into bloom, which may be useful in
breeding programmes (early flowering, simultaneous flowering of all
grafted material for crossing). The use of wood apple as a rootstock in
drought-prone areas should also be tested.
Prospects
Wood apple is
likely to remain an underutilized resource in South-East Asia, despite
its status as an export commodity in Sri Lanka. The tree is only found
in home gardens in the drier parts of South-East Asia and the fruit is
not used much. There appears to be little interest in other potential
uses (source of gum, dwarfing rootstock, breeding work) either.
Literature
Burkill, I.H.,
1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd
edition. Vol. 1. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala
Lumpur. pp. 1014—1015.
Corner, E.J.H., 1988. Wayside Trees of Malaya. 3rd edition. Malayan
Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur. pp. 666—667.
Dymock, W., Warden, C. & Hooper, D., 1890. Pharmacographia
Indica. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta. pp. 281—284.
Swingle,
W.T., 1967. The botany of citrus and its wild relatives. In: Reuther,
W., Webber, H., & Batchelor, L. (Editors): The citrus industry.
Revised edition. Vol. I. University of California, Berkeley. pp.
415—417.
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