Wood Apple
Limonia acidissima
Wood apple is a hardy, thorny tree with round, hard-shelled fruit containing sticky, sweet-sour brown pulp, eaten with jaggery or made into chutney. It thrives in dry areas and needs very little care.
Photo: AntanO · CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Essential Care Requirements
Light
Full sun
Watering
Low
Water young trees; mature trees are very drought tolerant.
Soil
Most soils, including poor, rocky and alkaline ones.
Temperature and humidity
5–46 °C · Low humidity
Feeding
Not usually needed.
Pruning and propagation
Propagate by seed, grafting
Little pruning needed. Wear gloves for the thorns.
The ripe pulp is safe to eat.
Top Cultivation Tips
Ripe fruit sounds hollow when tapped.
Crack the shell on a hard surface.
Different from bael, though both are called wood apple.
Excellent for dry, rocky gardens.
Common problems
Caterpillars
The larvae of moths and butterflies, which chew holes in leaves, flowers and fruit and can strip a plant in days.
How to treat it →DiseaseLeaf spot
Fungal or bacterial infections that cause brown, black or purple spots on leaves, often with a yellow halo, leading to early leaf drop.
How to treat it →
