Aegle marmelos Linn

Description :

A small or medium sized deciduous tree. Its branches are armed with sharp straight axillary thorns. 2.4 cm long. The aromatic, alternate, compound leaves, are mostly trifoliate with leaflets lance shaped, 7 to 8 cm long. The two lower leaflets are almost without a petiole while the terminal leaflet has a petiole of 2 cm. The edges of the leaflets have rounded teeth. The bark is grey and rather corky with long vertical scales. The base of the bole may be fluted on older trees. The perfect flowers are greenish white and sweet scented, about 2.4 cm across, in short axillary bunches. Flowering occurs between April and May. The fruit is 5 to 17 cm in diameter, globose, grey or yellowish, with a woody shell. The seeds are embedded in a thick, orange yellow. Sweet pulp. Fruit development requires a year after flowering. It is reproduced easily both from seed and by vegetative means. An aggressive tree that will grow wild. As it will coppice easily. Growth is slow, closed grained, aromatic having high density and Yellowish or greyish white strong and tough wood.

Distribution :

Native to the sub-Himalayan tract including Burma, central and southern India, Pakistan and Nepal. It is a very intolerant tree that will not grow well in shade. It is cultivated on a large variety of sites but does best on sandy loam soils. It is adapted to an elevation zone of 0 to 1200 mm with a precipitation range of 600 to 1000 mm/yr. It grows well within a temperature range of 0 to 40°C in a dry, sub-tropical climate.

Uses :

lopped for fodder, and fuel. It is cultivated as a garden tree. It has potential as a farm forestry tree in semi-arid areas. Also used for Ornamental, fodder, food, small timbers, and medicinal purposes.