Limonia acidissima
Limonia acidissima is the only species within the monotypic genus Limonia. Common names for this South Asian species in English include wood-apple and elephant-apple. It is sometimes also called monkey fruit.
Description
Limonia acidissima is a large tree growing to 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 large fruit is a berry 5–9 cm diameter, and may be sweet or sour. It has a very hard rind similar to a rock, which can be cracked open. It appears greenish-brown on the outside, and contains sticky brown pulp and small white seeds. The fruit looks similar in appearance to the bael fruit.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.Distribution
Limonia acidissima is native to India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The species has also been introduced to Indochina and Malesia.Uses
The fruit is used to make a fruit juice with astringent properties and jams. Ripe fruit can be used as a pickle.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.
The wood apple is ubiquitous in Tamil Nadu, where the ripe fruit is eaten mixed with sugar or another sweetener. The name of the wood apple is used as the canonical example of a two-syllable prosodic foot in traditional Tamil song.
In Myanmar, the wood is used to make the distinctive local face cream thanaka.