Amla, Indian Gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica)

Amla is a small drought-tolerant fruit tree native to India that has a rich background in Ayurvedic medicine. The yellow, quarter-sized Amla fruit tastes sour and astringent with sweet, bitter and pungent secondary tastes. Fresh or dried fruit was traditionally used to treat asthma and aid in digestion. Amla fruit can be eaten raw or cooked in various dishes, candied, made into syrup or pickled. In Indonesia, the bark of the tree is cooked in broth. There are many names for this unique fruit tree that include Emblic, Emblic myrobalan, Myrobalan, Indian gooseberry, Malacca tree, Amla, Sanskrit Amalaki.