Garcinia mangostana L.

Garcinia species are evergreen trees or shrubs, wood moderately hard, bark grey, reddish or pale gray, branches often opposite, terete, glabrous, latex usually resinous, thick, yellow in bark, branches and fruits, but sometimes cream white. Leaves simple, opposite or rarely ternate, lanceolate-ovate to oblong-oblong, base acute to obtuse, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate, chartaceous, leathery, coriaceous, glabrous on both sides, with translucent glands, midrib impressed above and prominent beneath, lateral veins irregular with parallel short veins between, veinlets reticulate, petiole slender with raised margins, exstipulate, rarely stipulate. Inflorescence axillary or terminal, in cymes, fascicles, solitary or paired. Flowers 4-5 merous, heterochlamydeous, dioecious, pseudobisexual and female ones, always less, pedicel short or sessile, sepals 4 or 5-6, imbricate, decussate in pairs, or usually persistent in fruit, petals 4, rarely 5, imbricate or contorted, alternating with sepals. Male flowers: Stamens numerous, rarely few, obscurely fascicled with 1-5 bundles, lobed mass often around a rudimentary pistil, free or connate at the base, filaments short or absent, anthers erect or peltate, 2 loculed or rarely 4, dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Female flowers: often solitary, bigger than male flowers, with minute free or united staminodes, filaments arranged in ring shape, ovary superior, globose, 2-12 locular, ovules lateral or erect, anatropus, style short or absent, stigma peltate, smooth or papillate. Fruit fleshy berry, sulcate or smooth, encased by persistent sepals. Seeds 1-12, oblong ovoid, covered with juicy cream white pulp.

Shrub/ Small tree

Flowering: September-October, Fruiting: November-December.

Garcinia species flowers are dioecious with separate male and female plants, pseudobisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), or sometimes monoecious i.e. both male and female plants on the same plant. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects, or cleistogamy i.e., by self or allogamy i.e., by cross pollination. Flowering/Fruiting: July—December.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Evergreen small trees, about 8-20 m tall, wood moderately hard, bark dark brown, branches dense, often opposite, glabrous, quadrangular, latex usually resinous, thick, yellow in bark, branches and fruits. Leaves simple, opposite, lanceolate to elliptic-oblong, about 10-25 x 4-10 cm across, base acute, margins entire, apex shallow acuminate to acute, glossy, shining, thick, coriaceous, glabrous on both sides, midrib prominent above and beneath, lateral veins 35-50, irregular with oblique parallel short veins, anastomosing near the margins, veinlets reticulate, petiole robust, slender with raised margins, about 1-2 cm long, exstipulate. Inflorescence axillary, solitary or supra axillary cymes. Flowers heterochlamydeous, dioecious, pseudobisexual, fragrant, pedicels about 8-12 mm long. Male flowers: axillary, solitary or fascicled with 2-9 flowers, rose pink, sepals 4-5, imbricate, usually persistent in fruit, petals 4-5, imbricate, obovate-orbicular, alternating with sepals, stamens 16 or more in 4 bundles, inserted around lobed mass often around a rudimentary pistil, free or connate at the base, filaments short, anthers peltate, bent at ends, 2 loculed, dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Female flowers: often solitary or paired, bigger than male flowers, globose, with minute free or united staminodes, filaments arranged in ring shape, ovary superior, globose, 4-8 locular, ovules lateral or erect, style absent, stigma rays 5-6. Fruit fleshy berry, globose, 4-7 x 3-6 cm across smooth, reddish brown or purplish red, encased by persistent sepals and crowned by stigma. Seeds 4-8, oblong ovoid, covered with juicy cream white pulp.

Evergreen tall trees, 20-25 m tall, crown conical or pyramidal; Branchlets many, decussate, stout, cylindric, slightly grooved; Wood brick-red, heavy; bark black or dark-brown, yellow, smooth; latex yellow, sticky. Leaves simple, opposite, decussate; petioles ca. 2-2.5 cm long, stout; lamina ca. 14-25 x 5-12 cm, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, acute, obtuse or rotundate at base, acute or shortly acuminate at apex, margins thick, often slightly revolute, thickly coriaceous, purpurascent and shiny; secondary nerves 40-50 pairs, subhorizontal, numerous, prominent beneath, interarching with a double intermarginal nerve. Male flowers rare, 2-9, clustered at apex of branchlet, ca. 4 cm in diam., showy, pale green or creamy yellow; pedicels ca. 1.5-2 cm long; bracts several orbicular, concave, scarious; sepals 4, erect, unequal, coriaceous, orbicular, concave, rotund; petals 4, ovate, fleshy, yellowish-red inside, greenish-red outside; stamens indefinite, inserted on 4 thick, receptacular lobes below rudimentary pistil; filaments short; anthers ovate-oblong, recurved, bilocular, dehiscence longitudinal; rudimentary pistil discoid, fleshy, red, apex conical, as long as stamens. Female flowers ca. 4-5 cm in diam., solitary or geminate, pseudoterminal; pedicels ca. 1.8-2 cm long, stout, woody; sepals 4, ca. 2cm in diam., decussate, orbicular, concave, persistant, outer pair shorter than inner; petals 4, ca. 2.5-3 cm in diam., purple, orbicular, concave, thick, fleshy; stamens many, 1-2 seriate; anthers ovate-oblong, recurved, bilocular, dehiscence longitudinal; filaments ca. 4-5 mm long, slender, connate at base; ovary globular, 4-8 locular, smooth; ovules solitary, ascending; stigmas sessile, punctate, 5-8 lobed, lobes cuneiform. Berries ca. 7 cm in diam., dark purplish-brown, glossy, smooth, surrounded by enlarged sepals at base and crowned by hard, flat stigma, on short peduncles; pericarp thick, spongy, reddish abounding in yellow latex. Seeds 7-8, ca. 1-2 cm long, oblong, laterally compressed, with white, thick, with juicy, pleasant smelling aril.

Garcinia species are susceptible to various insect pests, virus and fungi, affecting leaves, fruits and roots.

Notes: Western Ghats, Mid Altitude to High Altitude, Cultivated, Native of Malaysian Region

Native to Malaysia, cultivated in India.

Forested areas

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Cultivated for fruits, Used in Sidha medicine.

Used as a dessert and can be made into preserve; also used in dyeing and tanning. The active principle appears to be a yellow pigment-mangostin. Wood suitable for cabinet work, building purposes, rice pounders and spear handles.

Rind in astringent, used as a febrifuge, in chronic diarrhoea, cystitis, gonorrhoea, gleet and tropical dysentery. The pericarp used as a paste for skin infections. Bark rind and young leaves used as a gargle for a sore mouth.