Balimbing
Averrhoa carambola Linn.
Averrhoa pentandra Blanco
STAR FRUIT
| Common names | |
| Balimbing (C. Bis., Bik., Sul., Tag.) | Garahan (Bis.) |
| Balingbing (Bik., C. Bis.) | Garulan (Ibn.) |
| Balimbin (Tag.) | Malimbin (S. L. Bis.) |
| Blingbing (Tag.) | Sirinate (Ting.) |
| Daligan (Ilk.) | Carambola (Span.) |
| Dalihan (Ibn.) | Caramba (Span.) |
| Galañgan (P. Bis.) | Country gooseberry (Engl.) |
| Galuran (Ibn.) | Star fruit (Engl.) |
| Botany Small tree growing to a height of 6 meters or less. Leaves are pinnate, about 15 cm long. Leaflets are smooth, pairs and ovate to ovate-lanceolate. Pannicles are small, axillary and bell-shaped, 5-6 mm long. Calyx is reddish purple. Petals are purple, often margined with white. Fruit is fleshy green to greenish yellow, about 6 cm long, with 5 longitudinal, sharp and angular lobes. Seeds are arillate. Medical properties Vermifuge, laxative, refrigerant, antiscorbutic, febrifuge, sialogogue, antiphlogistic, stimulant, emmenagogue, anodyne, emetic. Distribution Planted in cultivated and semi-cultivated areas. Parts used Leaves, flowers, seeds, fruit. . Uses: Nutritional Edible fruit is a source of iron (low in calcium) and vitamins B and C, oxalate and potassium. Folkloric Tea of boiled leaves used for aphthous stomatitis. Crushed shoots or leaves used externally for headaches and ringworm. Boiled flowers used to expel worms: 50 gms to a pint of boiling water; drunk in normal doses. Fruit is laxative. Decoction of fruit, 50 gms to a pint of boiling water, 4-5 glasses a day for bleeding piles. Juice of fresh fruit for affections of the eyes. Seed is used for asthma and colic: Powdered seeds, 10 gms to a cup of warm water, drunk 4 times daily. Availability Wild-crafted. Limited backyard cultivation. |
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