Averrhoa carambola both have edible fruit; the other species "Averrhoa bilimbi", which is sometimes called the Bilimbi or the Cucumber Tree, is limited to tropical regions. The fruits of "A. bilimbi" are too sour to be eaten raw, while the sweet forms "A. carambola" are eaten raw. The fruits of "A. bilimbi" and the sour forms, which have high oxalic acid content, of "A. carambola" are pickled and made into jelly, jam, and juice. The genus was named after Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin Rushd (better known just as Ibn Rushd), who was called Averroes in European literature - a famous
Common name nomenclature is a global system that attempts to denote particular organisms or taxa uniquely and , on the assumption that such organisms or taxa are well-defined and generally also have well-defined interrelationships; accordingly the ICZN has formal rules for biological nomenclature and convenes periodic international meetings to further that purpose. The form of scientific names for organisms that are called binomial nomenclature is superficially similar to the noun-adjective form of vernacular names or common names which were used by prehistoric cultures. A collective name such as "owl" was made more precise by the addition of an adjective such as "screech".