• Family : RUTACEAE
  (Rue Or Citrus Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : NIMBU FAMILY (नींबू फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Rutaceae
• Synonym(s) : Crateva marmelos L.; Crateva marmelos L.; Belou marmelos (L.) Lyons; Bilacus marmelos (L.) Kuntze; Crateva religiosa Ainslie; Aegle marmelos var. mahurensis Zate; Aegle marmelos var. tamilnadensis (S.A.Kader) D.D.Pramanick & Mastakar; Aegle tamilnadensis S.A.Kader; Feronia pellucida B.Heyne ex Roth
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Aegle marmelos (L.)Correa
• Common name : Bael Tree, Holy Tree, Bengal quince, Holy fruit tree, Indian Bael, Stone apple, Wood Apple
• Vernacular name :
  • Bael, Sirphal (Hindi)
  • Bilva patra mara (Kannada)
  • Vilva (Tamil)
  • Maredu (Telugu)
  • Belo, Baelo (Oria)
  • Bilva (Sanskrit)
  • Bel (Marathi)
  • Koolakam, Koovalam, Vilvam, Mavilavu (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Deciduous forests, also temple premises and homesteads
• Comments / notes : Considered as a sacred tree and planted in and around places of worship. Root and bark highly medicinal. Fruit pulp edible and used in confectionery.
• Key identification features : Small deciduous, glabrous trees; Flowers greenish white, sweet scented; Fruits globose, oblong or pyriform.
• Flower, Fruit : January-July
• Collector(s) Name : B.R.Ramesh, K.P.Sreenath; K.P.Sreenath, S.R.Ramesh
• Collection Date : 09-04-1980, 15-11-1978
• Collection Nos : KFP 11157, KFP 4364
• Collection Locality : Devarayanadurga, Tumkuru district; Bellary- Siruguppa road, Bellary district
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : All districts of Andhra Pradesh
  • Karnataka : All districts of Karnataka
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : All districts in Maharashtra
  • Odisha : All districts of Odisha
  • Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
  • Jharkhand :
  • Madhya Pradesh : Madhya Pradesh
  • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • Himachal Pradesh : Kangra district
  • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
  • Assam : Assam
  • Nagaland : Nagaland
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Punjab : Punjab
  • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Mizoram : Mizoram
  • Manipur : Manipur
  • Tripura : Tripura
• Native : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
  • J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
  • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
  • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
  • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
  • Saldanha & Nicolson, 1976 - Hassan
  • Saldanha, 1996
  • Gowda, 2004 - Sringeri
  • Ramaswamy & Razi, 1973 - Flora of Bangalore district, Karnataka state
  • Seetharam et al., 2000 - Gulbarga
  • Rao & Razi, 1981 - Mysore
  • Keshava Murthy & Yoganarasimhan, 1990 - Flora of Coorg district, Karnataka state
  • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 - Udupi
  • Manjunath et al., 2003 – Davanagere
  • Indigenous Plants at Biodiversity Park, Ranchi - Ranchi Afforestation Division, Forest and Environmental Department, Jharkhand
  • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 1, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 140
• Read more :
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Aegle marmelos. Downloaded on 1 April 2025.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution