The World of Apples

The apples that aren't

Bael

Aegle marmelos, Rutaceae, the citrus family

The bael grows wild in dry forests from Pakistan to Bangladesh and is cultivated throughout India “mainly in temple gardens, because of its status as a sacred tree”; writings mention it from 800 BC2. Morton’s English names for it are Bengal quince, Indian quince, golden apple, holy fruit and stone apple2, and it is also called wood apple and elephant apple3, which is where the confusion with the wood apple comes from.

It is “more prized for its medicinal virtues than its edible quality”. The pulp is eaten with palm sugar for breakfast in Indonesia, and in India beaten with milk and sugar into a drink called sherbet2.

Sources

  1. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Aegle marmelos, Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Supports: the accepted name and family.
  2. Bael Fruit, in Fruits of Warm Climates, Julia F. Morton, 1987, Purdue University NewCROP. Supports: the range, the sacred status, the names, the age of the written record and the uses.
  3. Aegle marmelos, Wikipedia. Supports: the names wood apple and elephant apple also being applied to it.