Limonia acidissima
In Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Subfamily: Aurantioideae
Genus: Limonia
L.
Species:
L. acidissima
Binomial name
Limonia acidissima
L.
Synonyms

Genus:[1]

  • Anisifolium Rumph. ex Kuntze
  • Feronia Corrêa
  • Hesperethusa M.Roem.
  • Winterlia Dennst.

Species:[2]

  • Schinus limonia L.
  • Crateva balangas K.D.Koenig
  • Crateva vallanga J.Koenig ex Wight & Arn.
  • Anisifolium curvispina (Miq.) Kuntze
  • Anisifolium limonia Kuntze
  • Anisifolium spectabile (Miq.) Kuntze
  • Feronia balanghas (K.D.Koenig) Steud.
  • Feronia elephantum Corrêa
  • Feronia limonia (L.) Swingle
  • Hesperethusa acidissima (L.) M.Roem.
  • Hesperethusa ambigua M.Roem.
  • Limonia ambigua DC.
  • Limonia curvispina Miq.
  • Limonia dulcis J.F.Gmel.
  • Limonia elephantum (Corrêa) Panigrahi
  • Limonia engleriana Perkins
  • Limonia pinnatifolia Houtt.
  • Limonia spectabilis Miq.
  • Murraya odorata Blanco

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] It is sometimes also called monkey fruit.

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.

Taxonomy

A number of other species formerly included in the genus are now treated in the related genera Atalantia, Citropsis, Citrus, Glycosmis, Luvunga, Murraya, 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 chili pepper, sugar and salt only).[7]

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 Myanmar, the wood is used to make the distinctive local face cream thanaka.[8]

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†
Vitamin A equiv.
1%
61 μg
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
Magnesium
12%
41 mg
Manganese
857%
18 mg
Phosphorus
16%
110 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. ↑ "Limonia L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  2. ↑ "Limonia acidissima L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  3. ↑ "Limonia acidissima". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. 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. 1 2 "Limonia acidissima L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  6. 1 2 Smith, Albert C. (1985). Flora Vitiensis nova : a new Flora of Fiji (spermatophytes only). Vol. 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.
  8. ↑ Köllner, Helmut; Bruns, Axel (1998). Myanmar (Burma). Hunter Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 9783886184156. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
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