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Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa

Synonym	:	Crateva marmelos L.
Family	:	Rutaceae
Local name	:	English-  Bael tree, Wood apple Malayalam- Koovalam, Mavilavu
Flowering and fruiting period	:	March - May
Distribution	:	India and Sri Lanka; widely cultivated in South East Asia & Malesia.
Distribution in kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Grown in temple premises and   homesteads.
Endemic /Exotic		Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Uses	:	Roots are used in diarrhoea, dysentery, flatulence, vomiting and colic. Root and root bark are used for thirst and body pain. Leaves are used for the treatment of opthalmia, deafness, indigestion piles and jaundice. Tender fruit promotes digestion and strength. Ripe fruits are nutritious and cooling, used in indigestion and to improve the vision.
Key botanical characters : Deciduous, to 25 m high, bark  thick, surface grey to pale brown, smooth, vertically striated; outer bark thick, dead, corky; inner bark semi fibrous, pink, streaked with white; blaze pink; exudation colour less, gummy. Leaves imparipinnate, alternate, Flowers polygamous, yellowish-white, and subsessile, in. Fruit a fleshy drupe,yellow, seeds 1-3, of which only one is perfect, pendulous, oblong.