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Tropical Plant "Bilimbi"
Averrhoa bilimbi
The bilimbi, Averrhoa bilimbi, L., (Oxalidaceae), is
closely allied to the carambola but quite different in appearance,
manner of fruiting, flavor and uses. The only strictly English
names are "cucumber tree" and "tree sorrel", bestowed by the
British in colonial times. "Bilimbi" is the common name in India
and has become widely used. In Malaya, it is called belimbing
asam, belimbing buloh, b'ling, or billing-billing. In
Indonesia, it is belimbing besu, balimbing, blimbing, or
blimbing wuluh; in Thailand, it is taling pling, or
kaling pring. In
Haiti, it is called blimblin; in Jamaica, bimbling
plum; in Cuba, it is grosella china; in El Salvador
and Nicaragua, mimbro; in Costa Rica, mimbro or
tiriguro; in Venezuela, vinagrillo; in Surinam
and Guyana, birambi; in Argentina, pepino de Indias.
To the French it is carambolier bilimbi, or cornichon
des Indes. Filipinos generally call it kamias but
there are about a dozen other native names.
Bilimbi Description
The
tree is attractive, long-lived, reaches 16 to 33 ft (5-10
m) in height; has a short trunk soon dividing into a number
of upright branches. The leaves, very similar to those of
the Otaheite gooseberry and mainly clustered at the branch
tips, are alternate, imparipirmate; 12 to 24 in (30-60 cm)
long, with 11 to 37 alternate or subopposite leaflets, ovate
or oblong, with rounded base and pointed tip; downy; medium-green
on the upper surface, pale on the underside; 3/4 to 4 in (2-10
cm) long, 1/2 to 1 1/8 in (1.2-1.25 cm) wide.
Small,
fragrant, 5-petalled flowers, yellowish-green or purplish
marked with dark-purple, are borne in small, hairy panicles
emerging directly from the trunk and oldest, thickest branches
and some twigs, as do the clusters of curious fruits. The
bilimbi is ellipsoid, obovoid or nearly cylindrical, faintly
5-sided, 1 1/2 to 4 in (4-10 cm) long; capped by a thin, star-shaped
calyx at the stem-end and tipped with 5 hair-like floral remnants
at the apex. The fruit is crisp when unripe, turns from bright-green
to yellowish-green, ivory or nearly white when ripe and falls
to the ground. The outer skin is glossy, very thin, soft and
tender, and the flesh green, jelly-like, juicy and extremely
acid. There may be a few (perhaps 6 or 7) flattened, disc-like
seeds about 1/4 in (6 mm) wide, smooth and brown.
Bilimbi Origin
and Distribution
Perhaps
a native of the Moluccas, the bilimbi is cultivated throughout
Indonesia; is cultivated and semi-wild everywhere in the Philippines;
is much grown in Ceylon and Burma. It is very common in Thailand,
Malaya and Singapore; frequent in gardens across the plains
of India, and has run wild in all the warmest areas of that
country. It is much planted in Zanzibar. Introduced into Queensland
about 1896, it was readily adopted and commercially distributed
to growers.
In
1793, the bilimbi was carried from the island of Timor to
Jamaica and, after some years, was planted in Cuba and Puerto
Rico, Trinidad, the lowlands of Central America, Venezuela,
Colombia, Ecuador, Surinam, Guyana and Brazil, and even in
northern Argentina, and it is very popular among the Asiatic
residents of those countries as it must be in Hawaii. Still
it is grown only as an occasional curiosity in southern Florida.
Bilimbi Varieties
Bilimbis
are all much the same wherever they are grown, but P.J. Wester
reported that a form with sweet fruits had been discovered
in the Philippines.
Bilimbi Climate
The
bilimbi is a tropical species, more sensitive to cold than
the carambola, especially when very young. In Florida, it
needs protection from cold and wind. Ideally, rainfall should
be rather evenly distributed throughout most of the year but
there should be a 2- to 3-month dry season. The bilimbi is
not found in the wettest zones of Malaya. The tree makes slow
growth in shady or semi-shady situations. It should be in
full sun.
Bilimbi Soil
While
the bilimbi does best in rich, moist, but well-drained soil,
it grows and fruits quite well on sand or limestone.
Bilimbi Propagation
Most
efforts at grafting and budding have not been rewarding, though
Wester had success in shield-budding, utilizing non-petioled,
ripe, brown budwood cut 1 1/2 to 2 in (3.8-5 cm) long. Air-layering
has been practiced in Indonesia for many years. However, the
tree is more widely grown from seed.
Bilimbi
trees are vigorous and receive no special horticultural attention.
It has been suggested that they would respond well to whatever
cultural treatment gives good results with the carambola.
Bilimbi Season,
Harvesting and Keeping Quality
In
India as in Florida, the tree begins to flower about February
and then blooms and fruits more or less continuously until
December. The fruits are picked by hand, singly or in clusters.
They need gentle handling because of the thin skin. They cannot
be kept on hand for more than a few days.
Bilimbi Pests
and Diseases
No
pests or diseases have been reported specifically for the
bilimbi.
Bilimbi Food
Uses
The
bilimbi is generally regarded as too acid for eating raw,
but in Costa Rica, the green, uncooked fruits are prepared
as a relish which is served with rice and beans. Sometimes
it is an accompaniment for fish and meat. Ripe fruits are
frequently added to curries in the Far East. They yield 44.2%
juice having a pH of 4.47, and the juice is popular for making
cooling beverages on the order of lemonade.
Mainly,
the bilimbi is used in place of mango to make chutney, and
it is much preserved. To reduce acidity, it may be first pricked
and soaked in water overnight, or soaked in salted water for
a shorter time; then it is boiled with much sugar to make
a jam or an acid jelly. The latter, in Malaya, is added to
stewed fruits that are oversweet. Half-ripe fruits are salted,
set out in the sun, and pickled in brine and can be thus kept
for 3 months. A quicker pickle is made by putting the fruits
and salt into boiling water. This product can be kept only
4 to 5 days.
The
flowers are sometimes preserved with sugar.
Bilimbi Other
Uses
Fruit:
Very acid bilimbis are employed to clean the blade of
a kris (dagger), and they serve as mordants in the
preparation of an orange dye for silk fabrics. Bilimbi juice,
because of its oxalic acid content, is useful for bleaching
stains from the hands and rust from white cloth, and also
tarnish from brass.
Wood:
The wood is white, soft but tough, even-grained, and weighs
35 lbs/cu ft. It is seldom available for carpentry.
Medicinal
Uses: In the Philippines, the leaves are applied as a
paste or poulticed on itches, swellings of mumps and rheumatism,
and on skin eruptions. Elsewhere, they are applied on bites
of poisonous creatures. Malayans take the leaves fresh or
fermented as a treatment for venereal disease. A leaf infusion
is a remedy for coughs and is taken after childbirth as a
tonic. A leaf decoction is taken to relieve rectal inflammation.
A flower infusion is said to be effective against coughs and
thrush.
In
Java, the fruits combined with pepper are eaten to cause sweating
when people are feeling "under the weather". A paste of pickled
bilimbis is smeared all over the body to hasten recovery after
a fever. The fruit conserve is administered as a treatment
for coughs, beri-beri and biliousness. A sirup prepared from
the fruit is taken as a cure for fever and inflammation and
to stop rectal bleeding and alleviate internal hemorrhoids.
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