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{{Short description|Species of tree, considered sacred by Hindus}}
{{About|the bael tree|the demon|Bael (demon)|the professional wrestler|Bael (wrestler)|other uses|Bael (disambiguation){{!}}Bael}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Bael
| image = Bael (Aegle marmelos) tree at Narendrapur W IMG 4116.jpg
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Aegle
| parent_authority = [[José Correia da Serra|Corrêa]]<ref>{{GRIN genus | name = ''Aegle'' | id = 228 | access-date = 20 June 2017}}</ref>
| species = marmelos
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[José Correia da Serra|Corrêa]]<ref name="GRIN">{{cite web|url=https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=1560|title=Taxon: ''Aegle marmelos'' (L.) Corrêa|publisher=GRIN Global, National Plant Germplasm System, US Department of Agriculture|date=19 September 2017|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref>
| synonyms =
* ''Belou marmelos'' {{Au|(L.) A.Lyons}}
* ''Crateva marmelos'' {{Au|L.}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=GRIN/>
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>Plummer, J. (2020). ''Aegle marmelos. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species'' 2020: e.T156233789A156238207. {{doi|10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T156233789A156238207.en}}. Downloaded on 07 March 2021.</ref>
}}

'''''Aegle marmelos''''', commonly known as '''bael''' ({{aka}} ''bel'', ''beli'', or ''bhel''),<ref name="FOI">{{cite web|url=https://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Bel.html|title=Aegle marmelos - Bel|website=Flowers of India|access-date=5 December 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521022522/http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Bel.html|archive-date=21 May 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Wilder GP |year=2020 |title=Fruits of the Hawaiian Islands (original 1907) |publisher=Hawaiian Gazette, Library of Alexandria |isbn=1465583092 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZRN1DZJPhuMC}}</ref> also '''Bengal quince''',<ref name=GRIN/> '''golden apple''',<ref name=GRIN/> '''Japanese bitter orange''',<ref name=UMelb>{{cite web|url=http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Aegle.html|title=M.M.P.N.D. - Sorting Aegle names|work=unimelb.edu.au|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref> '''stone apple'''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bael: ''Aegle marmelos'' (L.) Correa |work=Philippine Medicinal Plants |url=http://www.stuartxchange.org/Bael}}</ref><ref name="Orwa" /> or '''wood apple''',<ref name=UMelb /> is a species of tree native to the [[Indian subcontinent]] and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name=GRIN/> It is present in [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]],<ref name="hort" /> [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Nepal]] as a [[introduced species|naturalized species]].<ref name=GRIN/><ref name=hort>{{cite web|url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/bael.html|title=Bael|author=Misra KK|date=1999|publisher=NewCROP, the New Crop Resource Online Program, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Center for New Crops & Plant Products, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref> The tree is considered to be sacred by [[Hinduism|Hindus]] and [[Buddhism|Buddhists]]. Bael is the only member of the monotypic genus '''''Aegle'''''.<ref name="hort" />

== Common names ==
The fruit has various common names, such as ''bael fruit'', ''Indian bael'', ''golden apple'', ''elephant apple'', ''Indian quince'', and ''stone apple''.<ref>Vijai Selvaraj, K.S. et al. (2024). ''Aegle marmelos'' (L.) Correa. In: Máthé, Á., Khan, I.A. (eds.). ''Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of India''. Vol. 3. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, vol 11. Springer, Cham. p. 19. {{doi|10.1007/978-3-031-75661-0_2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lim |first=TK |date=2012 |chapter=''Aegle marmelos'' |title=Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants |publisher=Springer, Dordrecht |page=594 |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-4053-2_70|isbn=978-94-007-4052-5 }}</ref>

== Description ==

''Aegle marmelos'' is a [[deciduous]] shrub or small to medium-sized tree, up to {{Convert|13|m|abbr=off}} tall with slender drooping branches and rather open, irregular crown.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Field guide to forest trees of Northern Thailand|last=Gardner|first=Simon|publisher=Kobfai Publishing Project|year=2007|isbn=978-974-8367-29-3|location=Bangkok|pages=102}}</ref>

=== Bark ===
The [[Bark (botany)|bark]] is pale brown or grayish, smooth or finely fissured and flaking, armed with long straight spines, {{Convert|1.2–2.5|cm|abbr=off|frac=4}} singly or in pairs, often with slimy sap oozing out from cut parts. The gum is also described as a clear, gummy sap, resembling gum arabic, which 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.<ref name="Orwa">{{Cite web|title=Aegle marmelos |work=Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide version 4.0|last=Orwa|first=C|date=2009 |url=http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Aegle_marmelos.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509095056/http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Aegle_marmelos.PDF |archive-date=9 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Leaves ===
The [[leaf]] is trifoliate, alternate, each leaflet {{Convert|5–14|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} x {{Convert|2–6|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}}, ovate with tapering or pointed tip and rounded base, untoothed or with shallow rounded teeth. Young leaves are pale green or pinkish, finely hairy while mature leaves are dark green and completely smooth. Each leaf has 4–12 pairs of side veins which are joined at the margin.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Padekar GS, Gughe DR, et al.|year=2023 |title=To Study Anthaelmintic Actiity of Aegle Marmalos |url=https://www.ijres.org/papers/Volume-11/Issue-6/1106314318.pdf |journal=International Journal of Research in Engineering and Science |volume=11 |issue=6 |issn=2320-9356 |eissn=2320-9364}}</ref>

=== Flowers ===
The flowers are 1.5 to 2 cm, pale green or yellowish, sweetly scented, bisexual, in short drooping unbranched clusters at the end of twigs and leaf axils. They usually appear with young leaves. The calyx is flat with 4(5) small teeth. The four or five petals of {{Convert|6–8|mm|frac=8}} overlap in the bud. Many stamens have short filaments and pale brown, short style anthers. The ovary is bright green with an inconspicuous disc.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

=== Fruits ===
The fruit typically has a diameter of between {{Convert|5 and 10|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]], United States Department of the Army|year=2009 |isbn=9781493018642 |location=New York |pages=23 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364}}</ref> It is globose or slightly pear-shaped with a thick, hard rind and does not split upon ripening. The woody shell is smooth and green, gray until it is fully ripe when it turns yellow. Inside are 8 to 15 or 20 sections filled with aromatic orange pulp, each section with 6 (8) to 10 (15) flattened-oblong seeds each about 1 cm long, bearing woolly hairs and each enclosed in a sac of adhesive, transparent mucilage that solidifies on drying. The exact number of seeds varies in different publications. The fruit takes about 11 months to ripen on the tree, reaching maturity in December.<ref name=":0" /> It can reach the size of a large [[grapefruit]] or [[pomelo]], and some are even larger. The shell is so hard it must be cracked with a [[hammer]] or [[machete]]. The fibrous yellow pulp is aromatic. It has been described as tasting of [[marmalade]] and smelling of roses. Boning (2006) indicates that the flavor is "sweet, aromatic and pleasant, although tangy and slightly astringent in some varieties. It resembles a marmalade made, in part, with citrus and, in part, with tamarind."<ref>{{cite book|last=Boning|first=Charles|title=Florida's Best Fruiting Plants: Native and Exotic Trees, Shrubs, and Vines|year=2006|publisher=Pineapple Press, Inc.|location=Sarasota, Florida|page=35}}</ref> Numerous hairy seeds are encapsulated in a slimy [[mucilage]].

{{gallery|mode=packed
|Bili Tree CM Farm Saldi.jpg|Tree
|Aegle marmelos plant.jpg|Small plant
|Bael (Aegle marmelos) leaf.jpg|Leaf
|Aegle marmelos bhel goldenApple JapaneseBbitterOrange stoneApple WoodApple 03.jpg|Leaves and fruit
|Bael (Aegle marmelos) fruit at Narendrapur W IMG 4099.jpg|Ripe fruit, India
|Bael15 Mounts Asit.jpg|Fruit interior
|Bael fruit (Aegle marmelos) seeds.jpg|Ripe fruit dried seeds
|Dry Aegle marmelos--.jpg|Dry fruit slices
}}

=== Chemistry ===
The bael tree contains [[furocoumarins]], including [[xanthotoxol]] and the methyl ester of alloimperatorin, as well as [[flavonoid]]s, [[rutin]] and [[marmesin]]; a number of essential oils; and, among its alkaloids, ''á''-fargarine(=[[allocryptopine]]), ''O''-isopentenylhalfordinol, ''O''-methylhafordinol.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Rasadah Mat Ali |url=http://www.asean.org/uploads/archive/publications/aseanherbal2010.pdf |title=Aegle marmelos (L.): In ASEAN Herbal and Medicinal Plants (page 107) |author2=Zainon Abu Samah |author3=Nik Musaadah Mustapha |author4=Norhara Hussein |publisher=Association of Southeast Asian Nations |year=2010 |isbn=978-979-3496-92-4 |location=Jakarta, Indonesia |page=43 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612173850/http://www.asean.org/uploads/archive/publications/aseanherbal2010.pdf |archive-date=12 June 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy}}</ref> Aegeline (N-[2-hydroxy-2(4-methoxyphenyl) ethyl]-3-phenyl-2-propenamide) is a constituent that can be [[extract]]ed from bael leaves.<ref name="drugtest">{{cite journal |display-authors=3 |vauthors=Chatham-Stephens K, Taylor E, Chang A, Peterson A, Daniel J, Martin C, Deuster P, Noe R, Kieszak S, Schier J, Klontz K, Lewis L |year=2017 |title=Hepatotoxicity associated with weight loss or sports dietary supplements, including OxyELITE Pro - United States, 2013 |journal=Drug Test Anal |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=68–74 |doi=10.1002/dta.2036 |pmc=5579712 |pmid=27367536}}</ref><ref name="avula">{{cite journal |last1=Avula |first1=B |last2=Chittiboyina |first2=A. G |last3=Wang |first3=Y. H |last4=Sagi |first4=S |last5=Raman |first5=V |last6=Wang |first6=M |last7=Khan |first7=I. A |display-authors=3 |year=2016 |title=Simultaneous Determination of Aegeline and Six Coumarins from Different Parts of the Plant ''Aegle marmelos'' Using UHPLC-PDA-MS and Chiral Separation of Aegeline Enantiomers Using HPLC-ToF-MS |journal=Planta Medica |volume=82 |issue=6 |pages=580–8 |doi=10.1055/s-0042-103160 |pmid=27054911 |bibcode=2016PlMed..82..580A |s2cid=205000525}}</ref> Aeglemarmelosine has been isolated as an orange viscous oil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laphookhieo |first=Surat |year=2011 |title=Chemical constituents from ''Aegle marmelos'' |url=http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-50532011000100024&lng=en&nrm=iso |journal=J. Braz. Chem. Soc. [online] |volume=22 |pages=176–178}}</ref>

== Habit and habitat ==

[[File:Trunks and leaves of Indian bael (Aegle marmelos).jpg|thumb|200px|Trunks and leaves of Indian bael (Aegle marmelos) in [[West Bengal]], India.]]
''Aegle marmelos'' is native across the [[Indian subcontinent]] and [[Southeast Asia]], and is cultivated throughout [[Sri Lanka]], [[Tamilnadu]], Thailand, and [[Malesia]].<ref name="GRIN" /> Studies indicate the origin of the bael fruit in India, in the [[Eastern Ghats]] and in the [[Central India|central]] to [[Northern India|northern]] parts of the country.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Arid fruits |first1=P. L. |last1=Saroj |first2=R. |last2=Kumar |title=Fruit and Nut Crops |series=Handbooks of Crop Diversity: Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources |editor1=P. E. Rajasekharan |editor2=V. Ramanatha Rao |publisher=Springer Nature |date=2024 |pages=619 |isbn=9789819953486}}</ref><ref>Vijai Selvaraj, K.S. et al. (2024). "Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa". In: Máthé, Á., Khan, I.A. (eds) Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of India, Vol. 3. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, vol 11. Springer, Cham. pp. 21-22. {{doi|10.1007/978-3-031-75661-0_2}}</ref><ref>Bobade, H., Sharma, S., Singh, A. (2020). "Indian Bael". In: Nayik, G.A., Gull, A. (eds) Antioxidants in Fruits: Properties and Health Benefits. Springer, Singapore. p. 137. {{doi|10.1007/978-981-15-7285-2_8}}</ref> In this country, states where the bael fruit is grown include Uttar Pradesh, states in Eastern India (Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Orissa), as well as in the Himalayan foothills, the Deccan plateau and the Indo-Gangetic plains.<ref>Vijai Selvaraj, K.S. et al. (2024). "Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa". In: Máthé, Á., Khan, I.A. (eds) Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of India, Vol. 3. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, vol 11. Springer, Cham. pp. 21-22. {{doi|10.1007/978-3-031-75661-0_2}}</ref><ref>Bobade, H., Sharma, S., Singh, A. (2020). "Indian Bael". In: Nayik, G.A., Gull, A. (eds) Antioxidants in Fruits: Properties and Health Benefits. Springer, Singapore. p. 137. {{doi|10.1007/978-981-15-7285-2_8}}</ref>

It occurs in dry, open [[forests]] on hills and plains at altitudes from {{convert|0|–|1,200|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} with mean annual rainfall of {{convert|570|-|2,000|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Orwa" /><ref name="hort" /> It has a reputation in India for being able to grow in places that other trees cannot. It copes with a wide range of soil conditions ([[pH]] range 5–10), is tolerant of waterlogging and has an unusually wide temperature tolerance from {{convert|-7|–|48|C|F|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="hort" /> It requires a pronounced dry season to give fruit.

== Toxicity ==

Aegeline is a known constituent of the bael leaf and consumed as a [[dietary supplement]] with the intent to produce weight loss.<ref name="drugtest" /><ref name="avula" /> In 2013, the U.S. [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA), [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC), the Department of Defense Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, and [[Hawaii]] state and local health officials identified an outbreak of 97 persons with acute non-viral [[hepatitis]] that first emerged in Hawaii. Seventy-two of these persons had reported using the [[dietary supplement]] OxyElite Pro, containing aegeline, which was manufactured by the [[Dallas]]-based company USPlabs.<ref name="drugtest" /><ref name="FDA2014">{{cite web |date=30 July 2014 |title=FDA Investigation Summary: Acute Hepatitis Illnesses Linked to Certain OxyElite Pro Products |url=https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm370849.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20171114154924/https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm370849.htm |archive-date=14 November 2017 |access-date=19 November 2015 |publisher=US Food and Drug Administration}}</ref> FDA had previously taken action against an earlier formulation of OxyElite Pro because it contained [[dimethylamylamine]], a stimulant that FDA had determined to be an [[adulterant]] when included in dietary supplements, and could cause high blood pressure and lead to heart attacks, seizures, psychiatric disorders, and death.<ref name="FDA2014" /> USPlabs subsequently reformulated this product without informing the FDA or submitting the required safety data for a new dietary ingredient.<ref name="FDA2014" />

Doctors at the Liver Center at [[The Queen's Medical Center]] investigating the first cases in Hawaii reported that between May and September 2013, eight previously healthy individuals presented themselves at their center suffering from a drug-induced liver injury.<ref name="drugtest" /><ref name="Roytman2014">{{cite journal |display-authors=3 |vauthors=Roytman MM, Pörzgen P, Lee CL, Huddleston L, Kuo TT, Bryant-Greenwood P, Wong LL, Tsai N |date=August 2014 |title=Outbreak of severe hepatitis linked to weight-loss supplement OxyELITE Pro |journal=Am J Gastroenterol |volume=109 |issue=8 |pages=1296–8 |doi=10.1038/ajg.2014.159 |pmid=25091255 |s2cid=28252720}}</ref> All of these patients had been using the reformulated OxyElite Pro, which they had purchased from different sources, and which had different lot numbers and expiration dates, at doses within the manufacturer's recommendation.<ref name="drugtest" /><ref name="Roytman2014" /> Three of these patients developed fulminant liver failure, two underwent urgent liver transplantation, and one died.<ref name="drugtest" /><ref name="Roytman2014" /> The number of such cases ultimately rose to 44 in Hawaii.<ref name="drugtest" /><ref name="Roytman2014" /> In January 2014, leaders from the Queen's Liver Center informed state lawmakers that they were almost certain that aegeline was the agent responsible for these cases,<ref name="Daysong2014">{{cite news |last1=Daysong |first1=Rick |date=January 28, 2014 |title=Months after recall, new OxyElite Pro illnesses reported |work=Hawaii News Now |url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/24561216/exclusive |access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref> but the [[mechanism of action|mechanism]] of how aegeline may damage the liver has not been isolated.<ref name="drugtest" />

== Uses ==

=== Culinary ===
Rich in [[vitamin C]],<ref name=":0" /> the fruits can be eaten either fresh from trees or after being [[drying|dried]] and produced into candy, [[toffee]], pulp powder or [[nectar]].<ref name="hort" /> If fresh, the juice is [[strainer|strained]] and [[Food sweetening|sweetened]] to make a drink similar to [[lemonade]].<ref name=":0" /> The juice can be made into [[Sharbat (beverage)|sharbat]], also called ''[[Bela Pana|bela pana]]''.

=== Traditional medicine ===

The leaves, bark, roots, fruits, and seeds are used in [[traditional medicine]] to treat various illnesses.<ref name="hort" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Dev |first=S. |date=2023 |chapter=Aegle marmelos |title=Prime Ayurvedic Plant Drugs |publisher=Springer, Cham |page=77 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-22075-3_7|isbn=978-3-031-22074-6 }}</ref>

==In culture==
[[File:Aikya Linga in Varanasi.jpg|thumb|Leaves used in the worship of a [[lingam]], the icon of Shiva]]

Bael is considered to be one of the sacred trees of Hindus,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Panda|first1=H|title=Medicinal Plants Cultivation & Their Uses|date=2002|publisher=Asia Pacific Business Press Inc.|isbn=9788178330969|page=159|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYyuAwAAQBAJ}}</ref> (known in [[Sanskrit]] as बिल्व {{IAST|bilva}}<ref name=SED>{{cite dictionary |year=1981 |title=बिल ''bil'' |dictionary=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |place=Delhi, Varanasi, Patna |url=https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/csl-apidev/servepdf.php?dict=MW72&page=0684-c |page=684 |last1=Monier-Williams |first1=Monier}}</ref>), and thus they are used in Hindu rites.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Peg|first1=Streep|title=Spiritual Gardening: Creating Sacred Space Outdoors|date=2003|publisher=New World Library|isbn=9781930722248|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olAvkAfA3zIC}}</ref><ref name=bakh>{{cite book|last1=Bakhru|first1=HK|title=Foods That Heal|date=1995|publisher=Orient Paperbacks|isbn=9788122200331|pages=28–30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyqzV-tcDRQC}}</ref> Earliest evidence of the religious importance of bael appears in the ''[[Śrī Sūkta|Sri Sukta]]'' of the [[Rig Veda|Rigveda]], which reveres this plant as the residence of goddess [[Lakshmi]], the deity of wealth and prosperity.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Astrological Magazine, Volume 92|date=2003|publisher=Raman Publications|page=48|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7Z-AAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Bael trees are also considered an incarnation of the goddess [[Sati (Hindu goddess)|Sati]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sp1BCwAAQBAJ&q=bel+tree+parvati&pg=PT70|isbn = 9780834824232|date = 2003-10-14| publisher=Shambhala Publications }}</ref> Bael trees can be usually seen near Hindu temples and home gardens.<ref>{{cite book|last1=S.M. Jain|first1=K. Ishii|title=Micropropagation of Woody Trees and Fruits Volume 75 of Forestry Sciences|date=2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789401001250}}</ref> It is believed that [[Shiva]] is fond of bael trees, to a point of having earned the epithet बिल्वदण्ड ''Bilvadaṇḍa'' or "bel-[[staff of office|staff]]ed".<ref name=SED/> Its leaves and fruit still play a main role in his worship, because the leaf's trifoliate shape is seen to symbolise his [[Trishula|trident]]. Another belief is that the trifoliate shape of Bael leaf is symbolic representation of three eyes of [[Lord Shiva]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lim|first1=T. K.|title=Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants: Volume 4, F0000000000ruits Volume 4 of Edible Medicinal and Non-medicinal Plants: Fruits|date=2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789400740532|page=613|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4KuB3iGmbwC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter=Aegle marmelos, Bilva |title=Plant myths and traditions in India |last=Gupta |first=Shakti M. |date=1971 |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |page=21}}</ref>

In the traditional practice of the Hindu and Buddhist religions by people of the [[Newar people|Newar]] culture of [[Nepal]], the bael tree is part of a [[fertility]] ritual for [[girl]]s known as the ''[[Ehee|Bel Bibaaha]]''. Girls are "married" to the bael fruit; as long as the fruit is kept safe and never cracks, the girl can never become widowed, even if her human husband dies. This is a ritual that guarantees the high status of widows in the Newar community compared to other women in Nepal.<ref>{{cite book | author = Gutschow, Niels | author2 = Michaels, Axel | author3 = Bau, Christian | name-list-style = amp | year = 2008 | chapter = The Girl's Hindu Marriage to the Bel Fruit: Ihi ''and'' The Girl's Buddhist Marriage to the Bel Fruit: Ihi | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DK-eoCXM_WsC | title = Growing Up—Hindu and Buddhist Initiation Ritual among Newar Children in Bhaktapur, Nepal | location = Wiesbaden, GER | publisher = Otto Harrassowitz Verlag | isbn = 978-3447057523 | pages = 93–173 }}</ref>

The fruit appears in the Buddhist scriptures as the ''Daddabha [[Jataka]]'' (J 322). In it, [[the Buddha]] tells an early version of the [[Henny Penny]] story, in which a hare is frighted by the fruit falling on a palm leaf.

== See also ==
* [[The Belbati Princess]]
* [[The Story of a Fairy and a Prince (Shan folktale)]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Akbar |first=Shahid |date=2020 |chapter=Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa (Rutaceae) |title=Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants |publisher=Springer, Cham |pages=109–122 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_12|isbn=978-3-030-16806-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Blancke |first=Rolf |title=Tropical Fruits and Other Edible Plants of the World: An Illustrated Guide |location=Ithaca, NY |publisher=Cornell University Press |date=2016 |page=10 |doi=10.7591/9781501704284-002}}
* Bobade, H., Sharma, S., Singh, A. (2020). "Indian Bael". In: Nayik, G.A., Gull, A. (eds) Antioxidants in Fruits: Properties and Health Benefits. Springer, Singapore. pp. 135-161. {{doi|10.1007/978-981-15-7285-2_8}}
* {{cite book |last=Dev |first=S. |date=2023 |chapter=Aegle marmelos |title=Prime Ayurvedic Plant Drugs |publisher=Springer, Cham |pages=75–82 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-22075-3_7|isbn=978-3-031-22074-6 }}
* {{cite book |chapter=Aegle marmelos, Bilva |title=Plant myths and traditions in India |last=Gupta |first=Shakti M. |date=1971 |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |pages=21–24}}
* {{cite book |last=Lim |first=T.K. |date=2012 |chapter=Aegle marmelos |title=Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants |publisher=Springer, Dordrecht |pages=594–618 |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-4053-2_70|isbn=978-94-007-4052-5 }}
* {{cite book |chapter=Arid fruits |first1=P. L. |last1=Saroj |first2=R. |last2=Kumar |title=Fruit and Nut Crops |series=Handbooks of Crop Diversity: Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources |editor1=P. E. Rajasekharan |editor2=V. Ramanatha Rao |publisher=Springer Nature |date=2024 |pages=611–636 [619–620] |isbn=9789819953486}}
* Vijai Selvaraj, K.S. et al. (2024). "Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa". In: Máthé, Á., Khan, I.A. (eds.). ''Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of India''. Vol. 3. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, vol 11. Springer, Cham. pp. 17-29. {{doi|10.1007/978-3-031-75661-0_2}}
{{refend}}

{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Worship in Hinduism}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q234126|from2=Q3090671}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aurantioideae]]
[[Category:Fruits originating in Asia]]
[[Category:Crops originating from India]]
[[Category:Flora of the Indian subcontinent]]
[[Category:Trees of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Flora of the Andaman Islands]]
[[Category:Flora of the Nicobar Islands]]
[[Category:Plants in Hinduism]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Fruit trees]]
[[Category:Trees in Buddhism]]

Aegle marmelos - Revision history

Al202xis0 at 17:07, 25 April 2026