Herbal Healer: What is bilimbi?

Known as the cucumber tree, bilimbi provides food from its fruit and medicine from leaf, flower, seed and twig. Unusual in that its fruit resembles pickles, bilimbi is a relative of the carambola, more commonly known as star fruit.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

The flavones found in bilimbi fruit produce a useful anti-inflammatory effect; bilimbi syrup helps cure fevers and inflammation. As a diuretic, the fruit helps increase the flow of urine and this in turn can help lower blood pressure. A drink made from the crushed fruit is used for coping with whooping cough, while pieces of the tree chewed with salt and then stuffed into a cavity relieves dental pain. Potions rendered from this botanical are applied to acne, while twigs and leaves finely ground with red onion are applied to sore areas brought on by the mumps. Tinea versicolor — a skin condition caused by yeast that afflicts 2 to 8 percent of the population in the United States — is treated with a mash made from the bilimbi tree. Internal bleeding in the stomach is controlled using this green medicine. Due to its high citric acid content, bilimbi is employed to clean stains.

ABOUT THE HERB

Bilimbi — the “sour cucumber tree” — traces its origin to the Moluccas, a group of islands in Indonesia. Adapting well to warm regions with appreciable amounts of rainfall and direct sunlight, bilimbi is now found in both hemispheres, including Australia, where it is grown commercially. This tree rises 20 to 30 feet in stature, with some individuals attaining 60 feet. Dark red flowers grace the bilimbi, and these are followed in turn by fruits that measure 2 to 3 inches in length. The pulp is acidic, although there is a sweet variety of bilimbi fruit.

RECOMMENDED DOSAGE

Cut three bilimbi fruit seeds into small pieces and boil. Drinking the water after breakfast is a daily regime followed by persons seeking to lower high blood pressure.

The opinions expressed are solely the writer’s. NOTE: Visit herbalastrology.com to read Ted PanDeva Zagar’s other articles and columns that discuss the benefits of herbs and natural foods. DISCLAIMER: The author’s comments are not intended to serve as medical advice, and he urges his readers to seek qualified wellness professionals to resolve matters of health.

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