Common Name: Bel Tamil name: Vilva maram
Aegle is a small genus under family Rutaceae and consists of only 3 species. Bel tree is a well armed (thorns 1.5 cm) and grows to around 7-8 meters in height. It is a native tree extensively planted for its medicinal and religious purposes. The bark of the tree is light brown in color with shallow vertical fissures. The leaf are trifoliate arranged in an alternate manner. The terminal leaflet measure around 5 cm and the side leaflets measure around 2.8 cm. The leaflets are narrow and laceloate in shape. The margin of the leaf is gently toothed. The tree sheds its leafs during summer in northern parts of India, in our area it stays mostly evergreen. The inflorescence is in the form of a panicle, the flowers are white-green in color and measure around 3 cm across, they are fragrant and bisexual. The flower is a typical rutaceae flower with a central disk surrounded by 4-5 separate petals and several stamens emerge from the disk. The fruit is semi-globus in shape, woody, hard and contain a pulp which is strongly aromatic. The entire plant is used in various traditional medicinal systems. The tree is extensively planted in India. The fruit pulp is edible and sharbat-like drinks are made. It is larval host plant for Common lime and Common mormon butterflies.
