Limonia acidissima

Limonia acidissima is the only species within the monotypic genus Limonia. Common names for the species in English include wood-apple and elephant-apple.[3]

Limonia acidissima
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Sapindales
Family:
Rutaceae
Subfamily:
Aurantioideae
Tribe:
Citreae
Genus:
Limonia

Species:
L. acidissima
Binomial name
Limonia acidissima
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Schinus limonia L.
  • Ferronia elephantum Corrêa

Description

Limonia acidissima is a large tree growing to 9 metres (30 ft) tall, with rough, spiny bark. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets, each leaflet 25–35 mm long and 10–20 mm broad, with a citrus-scent when crushed. The flowers are white and have five petals. The fruit is a berry 5–9 cm diameter, and may be sweet or sour. It has a very hard rind which can be difficult to crack 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 49 KCal.

Wood-apple tree in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
A glass of woodapple juice

Taxonomy

A number of other species formerly included in the genus are now treated in the related genera Atalantia, Citropsis, Citrus, Glycosmis, Luvunga, Murraya, Microcitrus, Micromelum, Naringi, Pamburus, Pleiospermium, Severinia, Skimmia, Swinglea, and Triphasia.[4]

Distribution

Limonia acidissima is native to India (including the Andaman Islands), Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.[5][6] The species has also been introduced to Indochina and Malesia.[6][5]

Uses

The fruit is used to make a fruit juice with astringent properties and jams. Ripe fruit can be used as pickle (mashed with green chilly, sugar and salt only).[7] Another species of this fruits are considered auspicious to be offered to Shiva and Ganesha in pujas. A majority of Hindu temples will have a sacred tree within its compound and is known as the Sthala Vriksha.

Nutrition
Woodapple, raw (Daily Value)
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy518.816 kJ (124.000 kcal)
18.1 g
Sugars0 g
Dietary fiber5 g
3.7 g
7.1 g
VitaminsQuantity %DV†
Thiamine (B1)
3%
0.04 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
1417%
17 mg
Niacin (B3)
53%
8 mg
Vitamin C
4%
3 mg
MineralsQuantity %DV†
Calcium
13%
130 mg
Iron
46%
6 mg
Manganese
857%
18 mg
Zinc
105%
10 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water64.2 g
in Fruit Wood Apple values are for edible portion
†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: 1

References
  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  2. B. C. Stone, D. H. Nicolson (November 1978). "Arguments for Limonia acidissima L. (Rutaceae) and against Its Rejection as a nomen ambiguum". Taxon. 27 (5/6): 551–552. doi:10.2307/1219924. JSTOR 1219924.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. "Limonia acidissima". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2016-04-03.
  4. John H. Wiersema (2005-02-22). "Species in GRIN for genus". Ars-grin.gov. Archived from the original on 2000-11-02. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  5. "Limonia acidissima L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  6. Smith, Albert C. (1985). Flora Vitiensis nova : a new Flora of Fiji (spermatophytes only). 3. Lawaii, Hawaii: Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden. pp. 526–527. Retrieved 2018-03-25 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Smithsonian Libraries.
  7. Jaya Surya Kumari Manthena and K. Mythili (2004). "Development of wood apple pickle". Int. J. Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2014. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
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