Aegle marmelos

Aegle marmelos - Bael Tree, Golden Apple or Bengal Quince – is a mid-size, slow-growing deciduous tree native to India growing up to 18m in the right conditions. The fruits, leaves, twigs and root of the Bael tree are used medicinally. The tree is considered to be sacred by Hindus. Its fruits are used in traditional medicine, and as a food. It requires a pronounced dry season to give fruit. The orange fruits have an aromatic, pleasant-flavoured yellow pulp that is eaten either fresh or dry. The leaves and small shoots are eaten as salad greens. Flowers are fragrant.

Aegle marmelos is a deciduous Tree growing to 10 m by 5 m at a slow rate.
It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. The flowers are pollinated by Bees.
Suitable for: light , medium and heavy soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant is not wind tolerant.

The plant is a hardy, deciduous tree that can be grown in tropical and sub-tropic areas, being tolerant of harsh conditions, including extremes of temperature. It succeeds from sea level to an elevation of 1,200 metres where the mean annual temperature can range from -6 to 48°c. In Thailand, it only flowers and fruits well where there is a prominent dry season. Does best on rich, well-drained soils, but can tolerate poor soils and alkaline conditions. It also grows well in swampy, alkaline or stony soils having pH range from 5 to 8. It has gained the reputation of thriving where other fruit trees cannot survive. Plants are very drought tolerant. Seedling trees begin to crop when 6 - 7 years old, vegetatively propagated plants bear fruit after 5 years and full bearing can be attained in about 15 years. 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. The fruit ripens in the dry season when most leaves have been shed in anticipation of bloom for the next crop. The plant responds well to coppicing.