The Bael is a fruit-bearing tree native to dry woodlands and plains of central and southern India, Nepal, Pakistan, Laos and Thailand. It is the only species in the genus Aegle. Aegle belongs to monotypic genera of orange subfamily Aurantioideae.

Bael is a deciduous, perennial, subtropical tree that can stand short frosts, long droughts, and very high temperatures. It grows up to 18 meters tall and carries spines and aromatic flowers. Fruit is woody-skinned, smooth and 5-15 cm in diameter. The skin of some forms of the fruit is so hard it must be cracked open with a hammer throw. It has a lot of seeds, which are thickly veiled with fibrous hairs and are embedded in a dense, gluey, fragrant pulp.

Different parts of the tree are employed for its therapeutic, pesticide and nutritious properties. The fruit is fragrant and consumed fresh or dried. It is one of the most nourishing fruits. If eaten fresh, the juice is strained and sweetened to give a drink alike to lemonade and is also used in making sherbet, a refreshing drink where the flesh is mixed in with tamarind. If consumed dried, the hard leather like slices are placed in a pan with water which is then boiled before eaten.

Fruit takes about 11 months to mature. A fully grown tree will bear from 500-1000 fruits depending on the cultivar. Its mineral and vitamin contents include calcium, phosphorus, iron, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, carotene, and vitamin C. Other sections of the plant, the leaves and small shoots are eaten as salad greens.

Bael is as well used as an ayurvedic remedy for such ailments as diarrhea, dysentery, enteric parasites, dryness of the eyes, and the common cold. It is a very potent antidote for chronic irregularity. Half-ripe fruit is possibly the most effective remedy for prolonged diarrhea and dysentery. The leaves and seed oil have pesticide properties.

Bael can be grown in any type of soil such as water logged or very little water, clay or sandy, acidic or alkaline and with a pH range of 5-10.

Cautions: The ripe fruit shouldn't be taken excessively. When used without a pause, it develops atony of the intestines or lack of natural elasticity and consequent flatulence. The bael fruit should as well not be taken in excess  at once, as excessive consumption could bring on a sense of heaviness in the stomach.

bael

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