Bilimbi-tree
Averrhoa bilimbi
Wood-Sorrel family (Oxalidaceae)
Stems with fruits
The cucumber tree, or pickle fruit, is a small tree that is widely grown in the tropics. Its possible origin is from the Indonesian archipelago of the Moluccas. Flowers and fruits are borne directly on the trunk and branches (a character known as cauliflory). Other species that show this phenomenon are the cocoa and Judas tree.
The flesh of the fruit is acidic due to the amount of oxalic acid it contains. The word oxalic acid forms the basis of the family name to which it belongs, namely the Oxalidaceae or wood sorrel family. This family also contains the four-leafed clover like plant, wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella). Sorrel can be distinguished from clover by the number of leaflets (four instead of three) and the slightly sour taste on chewing.
The fresh-sour fruits can be used in rice and fish dishes or in chutney. However, the flesh of the closely related Averrhoa carambola fruit is sweet.
Themes
Crown jewel in the Botanical Garden TU Delft.
Fragrant flowers.
Generally, the fruit is not eaten raw but incorporated into other dishes. Fruits are boiled with sugar and made in to jams or chutneys or processed into syrup. The fruits can also be added to rice dishes and fish dishes.
Details
| Description: | Tree, reaching 5-10 m in height; has a short trunk soon dividing into a number of upright branches. |
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| Distributions: | Indonesia, malaysia |
| Habitat: | A tropical tree that prefers seasonally humid climates with a 2-3 month dry season; full sun; 0-1200 m atitude. |
| Year cycle: | Perennial (polycarpic evergreen) |
| Hardiness: | 50 - 59 f (heated glasshouse - subtropical) |
| Flower color: | Yellow, green, purple |
| Notes on flowers: | Flowers small, yellowish-green or purplish, emerging in 20 cm long, hairy panicle that is borne directly on the trunk (cauliflory) and the thickest branches. |
| Fruit color: | Yellow, green, white, creme |
| Notes on fruits: | Fruit ellipsoid, obovoid or nearly cylindrical, bluntly 5-sided, 4-10 cm long. the fruit turns from bright green to yellowish-green or (nearly) white as it ripens. |