The tree is small to medium sized, reaching 8 to 18 m in height, with crooked trunk and spreading branches. The leaves are simple, subsessile, the flowers are greenish-yellow. The fruit is nearly spherical, light greenish yellow, quite smooth and hard on appearance, with 6 vertical stripes or furrows. The fruits ripen in autumn. Its taste is bitter-sour. Being more fibrous than most fruits, it cannot be consumed raw in vast quantity; indeed, it is taken with salt. A glass of water taken immediately after eating a large fruit makes the water seem sweeter.
For medicinal purposes dried and fresh fruits of the plant are used. The fruit allegedly contains 720 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of fresh fruit pulp, or up to 900 mg per 100 g of pressed juice. Apart from this it also contains tannins; a reason why even dried form retains most of the vitamin content.
Particularly in Southern India, the fruit is pickled with salt, oil, and spices, and also used as a primary ingredient in the Ayurvedic tonic Chyawanprash. Its extract is popularly used in inks, dyes, shampoos and hair oils.
In Hinduism it is regarded as a sacred tree and worshipped as Mother Earth in India.
Bookmark with:
Deli.cio.us
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Newsvine
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
