The tree is small to medium in size, reaching 1–8 metres (3+1⁄2–26 feet) in height. The bark is mottled. The branchlets are finely pubescent (notglabrous), 10–20 centimetres (4–8 inches) long, usually deciduous. March–April is the main blooming season. Grafted trees begin flowering in 3–4 years, while seed-grown trees may take 7–10 years. Theleaves are simple,subsessile and closely set along branchlets, light green, resemblingpinnate leaves. The flowers are greenish–yellow. The fruit is nearly spherical, light greenish–yellow, quite smooth and hard on appearance, with six vertical stripes or furrows. The fruit is up to 26 millimetres (1 in) in diameter, and, while the fruit of wild plants weigh approximately 5.5 grams (0.2 ounces), cultivated fruits average 28.4 g (1 oz) to 56 g (2 oz).[6]
Ripening in autumn, the berries are harvested by hand after climbing to upper branches bearing the fruits. The taste is sour, bitter and astringent, and it is quite fibrous.
The amla fruit may be eaten raw or cooked, and inSouth Asia, the fruit is oftenpickled with salt, oil, and spices. It is used as an ingredient in dishes includingdal (a lentil preparation), and is also made intoamle kamurabbah, a sweet dish made by soaking the berries in sugar syrup until they are candied. It is traditionally consumed after meals.[citation needed]
In theBatak area ofSumatra, Indonesia, the inner bark is used to impart an astringent, bitter taste to the broth of a traditional fish soup known asholat.[11]
In the Buddhist tradition there are many references to the fruit of the emblic myrobalan. In theŚatapañcāśatka, Buddha's knowledge is described in a poetic simile: "O Bhagavan, the entire origination of all types of phenomena throughout time is within the range of your mind, like an ambalan fruit in the palm of your hand".[13]
Half an amla fruit was the final gift to the Buddhistsangha by the great Indian emperorAshoka. This is illustrated in theAshokavadana in the following verses: "A great donor, the lord of men, the eminent Maurya Ashoka, has gone from being lord of Jambudvipa [the continent] to being lord of half a myrobalan".[14] InTheravada Buddhism, this plant is said to have been used as the tree for achieving enlightenment, orBodhi, by the twenty-firstBuddha, namedPhussa Buddha.[15]
In Hinduism, the myrobalan, called theāmalaka inSanskrit, is sacred to all three members of theTrimurti, the Hindu supreme trinity ofBrahma,Vishnu, andShiva. According to legend, during a religious gathering,Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort, expressed a desire to worship Shiva, whileParvati, Shiva's consort, wished to worship Vishnu. Moved by each other's piety, they shed tears upon the earth, from which emerged the first myrobalan trees.[16] TheAmalaka Ekadashi is a Hindu occasion dedicated to Vishnu, venerating the myrobalan.
^Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
^Tarwadi K, Agte V (Aug 2007). "Antioxidant and micronutrient potential of common fruits available in the Indian subcontinent".Int J Food Sci Nutr.58 (5):341–9.doi:10.1080/09637480701243905.PMID17558726.S2CID7663752.
^abcDharmananda S (September 2003)."Emblic myrobalans (Amla)". Institute of Traditional Medicine.Archived from the original on 2005-09-01. Retrieved2006-02-07.
^Bhattacharya, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Ghosal, S.; Bhattacharya, S. K. (1999). "Antioxidant activity of active tannoid principles of Emblica officinalis (amla)".Indian Journal of Experimental Biology.37 (7):676–680.PMID10522157.
^Indian Ministry of Health and Family Planning. The Ayurvedic Formulary of India. Part I. 1st ed. Delhi, 1978.
^Chen, K. (1952). The Śatapañcāśatka of Mātrceta: Sanskrit Text, Tibetan translation and commentary, and Chinese translation. Edited by D. R. Shackleton Bailey, with an introduction, English translation and notes. Cambridge: The University Press, 1951. xi, 237 p. The Far Eastern Quarterly, 11(3), 408–410.doi:10.2307/2049590.
^Strong, J. S. (1983)The Legend of King Ashoka. New York: Princeton University Press. p. 99.
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