Richard Wright wrote:
On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:26:21 GMT, Malcolm Manners
wrote:


Richard Wright wrote:

On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:53:51 GMT, Malcolm Manners
wrote:



Richard Wright wrote:


Can somebody please identify the species of fruit tree included in
images at:

http://www.box.net/shared/static/seh2oklc0g.jpg

The place is East Timor. Photos taken last week.

The locals said that the fruit was 'starvation food' among those
people who took to the hills at the time of the Indonesian invasion.

Note the spines on the branchlets.

The skin of the fruit is hard, like that of a pomegranite.

The texture of the pulp is sticky, the flavour somewhat like that of
Passiflora edulis or passion fruit.

I believe it's Aegle marmelos, the baelfruit, which, as Monique
suggested, is Rutaceae.



Malcolm

You may well be right.

One residual problem for me is that the fruit tastes so distinctively
of passion fruit. Yet checks I have made on the web describe the fruit
of Aegle marmelos as slightly astringent - no flavour mentioned, so
far as I can find.

Some of the Capparaceae do taste of passion fruit. They are also
spiny.

Richard

It's been many years since I ate a baelfruit, but I don't recall any
astringency in a fully ripened fruit. I do remember a strong fruity
flavor (not specifically passionfruit, but that could be failing memory)
and a rather slimy texture. If it was baelfruit, the shell is quite
hard, and the way we used to break them open was to fast-pitch them
against a tree trunk or sidewalk. Was this one's shell hard like that?

Malcolm


Malcolm

Yes, indeed, the East Timor fruit fits your vivid description.

Richard
Good. Because your photos look exactly right for Aegle.
Malcolm