Bilimbi , or Cucumber tree [3] [4] ( Latin Averrhoa bilimbi ) is a plant of the Acidaceae family , a species of the genus Averrhoa , cultivated in warm countries for the sake of fruits.
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Averrhoa bilimbi L. , 1753 [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||
Content
Distribution
The birthplace of Bilimbi is Malaysia . Currently cultivated in Indonesia , Thailand , India , the Philippines , Myanmar , Sri Lanka , Tanzania . In 1793, it was introduced to Jamaica and soon spread to all the Antilles , Colombia , Venezuela , Ecuador , Guyana , Suriname , Brazil , Northern Argentina and the countries of Central America.
Biological Description
Bilimbi is a beautiful deciduous tree with a height of 5-10 m with a short trunk branching into several vertical branches. The leaves are complex, 30-60 cm long, consisting of 11-37 oval-oblong leaflets located opposite and directed downward. They are green above and pale green below, covered with a fluff, 2-10 cm long and 1.2-1.25 cm wide. The flowers are fragrant five-petalled, yellowish-green or purplish, collected in panicles, grow directly on the trunk or on the oldest thick branches. Fruits are elliptical, with weakly expressed five ribs, 4-10 cm long. They grow in clusters. At the base, they are covered with a small star-shaped cup, and at their ends are visible the remains of a flower. Unripe fruits are bright green in color and have crisp flesh; when ripe, they become yellow-green, ivory or almost white. The pulp of ripened fruit is green, soft, jelly-like, juicy and quite acidic. Sometimes it contains several smooth brown disc-shaped seeds about 6 mm wide.
Usage
Bilimbi fruits are too acidic to be eaten fresh. Sometimes unripe raw fruits are consumed with boiled rice, beans, fish or meat. Ripe fruits are added to curry , go to the manufacture of soft drinks and marinades . Jam and jelly are also made from them, previously, to reduce acidity, the fruits are punctured and soaked in salt water, then boiled with a lot of sugar . Flowers are also sometimes preserved with sugar. Due to the high concentration of oxalic acid in it, bilimbi juice is used to wash hands from paint, whiten white tissues, and remove dullness from brass. In the Philippines, bilimbi leaves are used for skin rashes and rheumatism. In other places they are applied to the bite sites of poisonous animals. A decoction of the leaves is used as an expectorant. Its infusion is also effective for inflammation of the rectum. A decoction of flowers is used as a remedy for cough and diarrhea.
Bilimbi tree
Bilimbi fruit (due to the external similarity with the fruits of cucumbers, the plant is also called a cucumber tree
Bilimbi fruit
Notes
- ↑ For the conventionality of specifying the class of dicotyledons as a superior taxon for the plant group described in this article, see the APG Systems section of the Dicotyledonous article .
- ↑ Sp. Pl. 1: 428. 1753
- ↑ Wolfe, 1969 .
- ↑ Acidic Family (Oxalidaccae) , Biological Encyclopedia.
Literature
- Wulf E.V. , Maleeva O. F. Averrhoa bilimbi L. - Cucumber tree, Bilimbi // World resources of useful plants: food, fodder, medicinal, etc. ed. F. Kh. Bakhteev ; BIN AN USSR . - L .: Nauka , 1969 .-- 566 p. - 7500 copies.