Aegle marmelos seed
LATIN NAME: Aegle marmelos
COMMON NAME: Bael
The bael is a sacred and useful tree of the warm lands. The small, slow, upright, spiny tree carries the glossy, trifoliate leaves, and the small, greenish-white, scented flowers open through the warm season, to be followed by the round, grey-green fruits with the hard, woody shell and the fragrant, golden pulp within. The tree has a long and careful record in the traditional practice and the old ways of the region, and every part of it is gathered and studied. It is a fine, easy, long-lived addition to the warm, sunny garden. It is a tree of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The bael keeps a regular place in the plant science, and the tree has been studied for a very long time for the round, woody-shelled fruits and the fragrant, golden pulp within. Researchers have looked at the chemistry of the fruit and the leaves, which have a long and careful record in the traditional practice of the region, and the tree keeps showing up in the work on the traditional remedies and the warm-climate fruit trees. The glossy, trifoliate leaves and the small, scented flowers have also made it a fine garden tree, and it is a regular subject of the studies of the sacred and the useful trees of the warm lands.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The bael pays its way in more than one direction. The fragrant, golden pulp of the round fruits has a long record of use in the drinks and the preserves of the region, and the leaves, bark and fruit have a long and careful record in the traditional practice. The small, slow, spiny tree is also a fine, easy, long-lived addition to the warm, sunny garden, and the glossy, trifoliate leaves keep it neat and handsome through the season. It has drawn attention in the international botanical and the herbal press for the sacred and the useful character of the tree, and it is a fine, generous tree of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.
The bael is one of the most useful trees of the warm lands, and the round, grey-green fruits with the hard, woody shell hold the fragrant, golden pulp that has been prized for a very long time. The glossy, trifoliate leaves and the small, scented flowers give the slow, spiny tree a fine, neat presence.
To grow the bael from seed, soak the flat seeds in warm water overnight, then sow them at a depth of about a centimetre in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep them in a warm, bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings come up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. Give them the sun and the well-drained ground, and the glossy, trifoliate leaves and the round, golden-pulped fruits will be there in a few seasons.
Aegle Marmelos
Also known as: Indian Bael, Bengal Quince, Golden Apple, Japanese Bitter Orange, Wood Orange.
Here is a wonderful species that is not widely cultivated and is native to Central and Southern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Burma.
It is a deciduous shrub or small to medium sized tree, up to 40 feet tall with slender drooping branches and rather shabby crown.
The flowers are 1.5 to 2 cm, pale green or yellowish, sweetly scented, bisexual, in short drooping unbranched clusters at the end of twigs and leaf axils.
The bael fruit typically has a diameter of between 5 and 12 cm and generally takes 10-11 months to ripen. It is globose or slightly pear-shaped with a thick, hard rind and is not splitting upon ripening. The woody shell is smooth and green, gray until it is fully ripe when it turns yellow. Inside are 8 to 15 or 20 sections filled with aromatic orange pulp, much like sticky marmalade.
The fruits can be eaten either freshly from trees or after being dried. If fresh, the juice is strained and sweetened to make a drink similar to lemonade. The leaves and small shoots are eaten as salad greens.
Fruit pulp is sometimes used as a detergent and adhesive, and does contain essential oils. Ripe pulp is used as a digestive aid and a laxative. Unripe pulp is used to treat diarrhea and dysentery. All other parts of the plant are used for a wide variety of medicinal purposes and there are way too many to list here. Though, Bael is a beneficial Ayurvedic plant, it does have some side effects too. Before eating the fruit, one should take caution with further research or advice from a professional. Especially if one is pregnant, breast feeding, is diabetic or has hypertension.
This species copes with a wide range of soil conditions (pH range 5-10), is tolerant of waterlogging and has an unusually wide temperature tolerance of 20-120F (-7 °C to 48 °C). It requires a pronounced dry season to give fruit.
It also attracts butterflies, for all those that have butterfly gardens!