Bael (Aegle marmelos) is a medium-sized deciduous trees. Its local names are bael, bil, bela, bilvam, mahaka, etc. The bael fruit, Aegle marmelos Correa (syns. Feronia pellucida Roth., Crataeva marmelos L.), is also called Bengal quince, Indian quince, golden apple, holy fruit, stone apple, bel, bela, sirphal, maredoo and other dialectal names in India;  It belongs to the Rutaceae family. Its branches are thorny and bark is gray in colour. The leaves are trifoliate and aromatic.

                Bael tree is generally found in the outer Himalayas, Shivaliks and South Indian plateau with altitudes ranging from 250 to 1200 m. It prefers comparatively drier and sunny or warmer aspect of the hill slopes with well-drained loamy soil. It is found growing naturally in mixed stands of Sal, Chir, Baheda, etc. in dry temperate region.

Description:- The bael fruit tree is slow-growing, of medium size, up to 40 or 50 ft (12-15 m) tall with short trunk, thick, soft, flaking bark, and spreading, sometimes spiny branches, the lower ones drooping. Young suckers bear many stiff, straight spines. A clear, gummy sap, resembling gum arabic, exudes from wounded branches and hangs down in long strands, becoming gradually solid. It is sweet at first taste and then irritating to the throat. The deciduous, alternate leaves, borne singly or in 2’s or 3’s, are composed of 3 to 5 oval, pointed, shallowly toothed leaflets, 1 1/2 to 4 in (4-10 cm) long, 3/4 to 2 in (2-5 cm) wide, the terminal one with a long petiole. New foliage is glossy and pinkish-maroon. Mature leaves emit a disagreeable odor when bruised. Fragrant flowers, in clusters of 4 to 7 along the young branchlets, have 4 recurved, fleshy petals, green outside, yellowish inside, and 50 or more greenish-yellow stamens. The fruit, round, pyriform, oval, or oblong, 2 to 8 in (5-20 cm) in diameter, may have a thin, hard, woody shell or a more or less soft rind, gray-green until the fruit is fully ripe, when it turns yellowish. It is dotted with aromatic, minute oil glands. Inside, there is a hard central core and 8 to 20 faintly defined triangular segments, with thin, dark-orange walls, filled with aromatic, pale-orange, pasty, sweet, resinous, more or less astringent, pulp. Embedded in the pulp are 10 to 15 seeds, flattened-oblong, about 3/8 in (1 cm) long, bearing woolly hairs and each enclosed in a sac of adhesive, transparent mucilage that solidifies on drying.

Climate:- The bael fruit tree is a subtropical species. In the Punjab, it grows up to an altitude of 4,000 ft (1,200 m) where the temperature rises to 120º F (48.89º C) in the shade in summer and descends to 20º F (-6.67º C) in the winter, and prolonged droughts occur. It will not fruit where there is no long, dry season, as in southern Malaya.

Propagation:- The bael fruit is commonly grown from seed in nurseries and transplanted into the field. Seedlings show great variation in form, size, texture of rind, quantity and quality of pulp and number of seeds. The flavour ranges from disagreeable to pleasant. Occasionally, air-layers or root cuttings have been used for propagation.

Culture & Harvesting :-Flowering occurs in April and May soon after the new leaves appear and the fruit ripens in 10 to 11 months from bloom–March to June of the following year. Normally, the fruit is harvested when yellowish-green and kept for 8 days while it loses its green tint. Care is needed in harvesting and handling to avoid causing cracks in the rind. A tree may yield as many as 800 fruits in a season but an average crop is 150 to 200, or, in the better cultivars, up to 400.

Pests and Diseases:- The bael fruit seems to be relatively free from pests and diseases except for the fungi causing deterioration in storage.

Food Uses:- The pulp is often processed as nectar or “squash” (diluted nectar). A popular drink “sherbet” is made by beating the seeded pulp together with milk and sugar. These drinks are consumed perhaps less as food or refreshment than for their medicinal effects. Mature but still unripe fruits are made into jam, with the addition of citric acid. The pulp is also converted into marmalade or syrup, likewise for both food and therapeutic use, the marmalade being eaten at breakfast by those convalescing from diarrhea and dysentery. Indian food technologists view the prospects for expanded bael fruit processing as highly promising.

Food Value per 100 g of Edible Portion*

Water                                54.96-61.5 g

Protein                                  1.8-2.62 g

Fat                                         0.2-0.39 g

Carbohydrates                   28.11-31.8 g

Ash                                        1.04-1.7 g

Carotene                                      55 mg.

Thiamine                                  0.13 mg.

Riboflavin                                1.19 mg.

Niacin                                        1.1 mg.

Ascorbic Acid                         8-60 mg.

Tartaric Acid                           2.11 mg.

Toxicity:- The leaves are said to cause abortion and sterility in women. The bark is used as a fish poison in the Celebes. Tannin ingested frequently and in quantity over a long period of time, is antinutrient and carcinogenic.

Other Uses

Fruit: The fruit pulp has detergent action and has been used for washing clothes. The gum enveloping the seeds is most abundant in wild fruits and especially when they are unripe. It is commonly used as household glue and is employed as an adhesive by jewelers. Sometimes it is resorted to as a soap-substitute. It is mixed with lime plaster for waterproofing wells and is added to cement when building walls. The limonene-rich oil has been distilled from the rind for scenting hair oil. The rind of the unripe fruit is employed in tanning and also yields a yellow dye for calico and silk fabrics.

Leaves: In the Hindu culture, the leaves are indispensable offerings to the ‘Lord Shiva’. The leaves and twigs are lopped for fodder.

Flowers: Cologne is obtained by distillation from the flowers.

Wood: The wood is strongly aromatic when freshly cut. It is gray-white, hard, but not durable; has been used for carts and construction, though it is inclined to warp and crack during curing. It is best utilized for carving, small-scale turnery, tool and knife handles, pestles and combs, taking a fine polish.

Medicinal value:- The bael tree is one of the most useful medicinal plants of India. Its medicinal properties have been described in the ancient medical treatise in Sanskrit, Charaka Samhita. All parts of this tree—stem, bark, root, leaves and fruit at all stages of maturity —have medicinal virtues and have been used as medicine for a long time.

Constipation:- Ripe bael fruit is regarded as best of all laxatives. It cleans and tones up the intestines. Its regular use for 2 or 3 months throws out even the old accumulated faecal matter. For best results, it should be taken in the form of sherbet, which is prepared from the pulp of the ripe fruit.

Diarrhoea and Dysentery :-The unripe or half-ripe fruit is perhaps the most effective remedy for chronic diarrhea and dysentery where there is no fever. Best results are obtained by the use of dried bael or its powder.

Vomiting:-  Decoction of unripe bael fruit controls vomiting.

Urinary disorders :-Juice of bael leaves ground cumin seeds & sugar candy taken in equal properties with milk stops urinary irritation.

Ear problems :-The root of this tree is used as a home remedy for curing ear problems. A stiff piece of the root is dipped in margosa oil and lighted. The oil that drips from the burning end is a highly effective medicine for ear problems. The antiseptic properties of margosa combined with the astringent extract of bael root helps in curing infection, chronic inflammation & discharge.

Whooping cough:- Roast the green leaves on slow fire till they become black powders. Filter them through thin cloth. One or two grams of this powder taken with little honey 3 times a day cures whooping cough.

Peptic ulcer:- An infusion on bael leaves is regarded as an effective remedy for peptic ulcer. The leaves are soaked over night in water. This water is strained and taken in the morning. The pain & discomfort are relieved when this treatment is continued for a few weeks.

Respiratory diseases:- Medicated oil prepared from bael leaves gives relief from recurrent colds and respiratory affections. A teaspoon of this oil should be massaged into the scalp before a head bath. Its regular use builds up resistance to colds & cough.