WHAT IS ' WOOD APPLE '

Wood apple may refer to  Bael (Aegle marmelos), a tree native to India and to Bangladesh,  Pakistan,

Sri Lanka, and southeast Asia east to Java. Woodapple is an ancient fruit of India. The Woodapple is the only species of its genus, in the family Rutaceae. The `kapittha` which is said to be Limonia acidissima, is a favourite with elephants. Besides Wood apple, it may be called elephant apple, monkey fruit, curd fruit, `kath bel` and other dialectal names in India.

The wood apple, a tree that bears edible fruit, is native to India.

The Bael fruit has a smooth, woody shell with a green, gray, or yellow peel.

The fruit is eaten fresh or dried.

If fresh, the juice is strained and sweetened to make a drink

Bael occurs in dry forests on hills and plains of northern, central and southern India.

The rind of the wood apple must be cracked with a hammer. The pulp is a sticky matter. It is pulp lifted

out and is eaten raw.

The Bel fruit, in actuality, is a herb having the botanical name, Limonia acidissima. Bel fruit has other names like wood apple, elephant apple and monkey fruit.

In Hinduism the tree is sacred. It is used in the worship of Shiva, who is said to favor the leaves.

The trifoliate leaves symbolize the trident that Shiva holds in his right hand. The fruits were used in place of coconuts . The fruit is said to resemble a skull with a white, bone-like outer shell and a soft inner part, and is sometimes called seer phael (head-fruit).