Limonia acidissima L.

 
  • Family : RUTACEAE
    (Rue Or Citrus Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : NIMBU FAMILY (नींबू फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Rutaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Feronia limonia (L.) Swingle
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Limonia acidissima L.
  • Common name : Wood Apple, Elephant Apple, Curd fruit, Monkey fruit
  • Vernacular name :
    • Kaith, Kaatbelh (Hindi)
    • Belada mara, Belavala mara (Kannada)
    • Velamaram (Tamil)
    • Velaga, Tor-elaga (Telugu)
    • Kaitho, Behenta, BHenda, Koito, Koeta (Oria)
    • Kapitthah (Sanskrit)
    • Kavath (Marathi)
    • Vilankai, Vilarmaram, Vilavu (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical dry deciduous forests, also grown in homesteads
  • Comments / notes : On foothills of scrub jungles and hills up to 1000m. Occasionally cultivated for its fruits.
  • Key identification features : Bark thin, greenish-grey, smooth
  • Flower, Fruit : January-October
  • Collector(s) Name : Cecil J. Saldanha, K.R.Keshava Murthy, S.R.Ramesh
  • Collection Date : 06/04/1979
  • Collection Nos : KFP 6810
  • Collection Locality : Ankapura plantation, Near Sagarada, Tumkuru district
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : East Godavari district, Kurnool district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, Prakasam district, Visakhapatnam district
    • Karnataka : Kolar district
    • Kerala : Wayanad district, Thrissur district, Ernakulam district, Kottayam district, Thiruvananthapuram district
    • Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
    • Odisha : Angul district, Cuttack district, Puri district, Nayagarh district
    • Tamil Nadu : Tamil Nadu
    • Chhattisgarh : Raipur district
    • Madhya Pradesh : Madhya Pradesh
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
  • Native : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
  • 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 and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
    • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
    • Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
    • 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.
    • M.R. Almeida (1998). Flora of Maharashtra vol.2.
    • Verma, D.M., et al 1985. Flora of Raipur, Durg and Rajnandagaon. Fl. of Ind. Ser. 3.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Limonia acidissima
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Limonia acidissima. Downloaded on 19 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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