Botanical name: Averrhoa bilimbi - [ (av-er-OH-uh) named for Averrhoes, an Arabian physician, (bil-LIM-bee) latinized form of the aboriginal name, referring to the ridged fruit ] Family: Oxalidaceae (wood sorrel family) - [ (oks-AL-id-uh-see-ay) family name based on its type genus Oxalis ]

Common names of Averrhoa bilimbi: Chinese: Huang gua shu, Mu hu gua, Xiang yang tao • English: Bilimbi, Bimbling plum (West Indies), Cucumber tree, Tree sorrel • French: Carambolier bilimbi, Cornichon des Indes, Zibeline • German: Bilimbinaum, Gurkenbaum • Hindi: Bilimbi • Japanese: Birinbi • Konkani: Bimbul • Malay: Belimbing asam, Belimbing besu, Belimbing buloh, Belimbing wuluh • Marathi: Bimbala • Tagalog: Kamias • Spanish: Grosella china (Cuba), Pepino de Indias (Argentina), Mimbro (Costa Rica, El Salvador), Vinagrillo (Venezuela) • Thai: Tàlingpling • Vietnamese: Khe tau

Origin: Moluccas

Averrhoa bilimbi, commonly known as bilimbi, blimbling, biling (and also bimbiri in Sinhala ), cucumber tree or tree sorrel is a close relative of the carambola, of genus Averrhoa, family Oxalidaceae.

Originated seemingly from the Moluccas, the species is cultivated or found semi-wild throughout Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is common in other Southeast Asian countries. In India, where it is usually found in gardens, the bilimbi has gone wild in the warmest regions of the country.

The bilimbi tree is long-lived, reaches 5-10 m in height. Its trunk is short and quickly divides up into ramifications. Bilimbi leaves, 30-60 cm long, are alternate, imparipirmate and cluster at branch extremities. There are around 11 to 37 alternate or subopposite oblong leaflets. The leaves are quite similar to those of the Otaheite gooseberry.

Courtesy: - TopTropicals - Dave's Garden - EcoPort - Zipcode Zoo - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia