WorldFloraDB - Garcinia gummi-gutta

Characteristics

A tree. It grows 14 m high. The leaves are sword shaped and 13 cm long. Male and female flowers are separate. Male flowers are yellow and in groups of 3-4 in the axils of leaves. The female flowers are larger and in the axils of leaves near the ends of branches. The fruit is orange coloured and segmented. It is about 5-7 cm across. It has a thin, smooth skin. The pulp is yellow and sweet. There are 6-8 seeds.

Life form	perennial
Growth form	tree
Growth support	free-standing
Foliage retention	evergreen
Sexuality	-
Pollination
Spread	-
Mature width (meter)	-
Mature height (meter)	14.0
Root system	-
Rooting depth (meter)	-
Root diameter (meter)	-
Flower color
Blooming months	-
Fruit color	-
Fruiting months	-
Nitrogen fixer	-
Photosynthetic pathway	c3

Environment

An understorey tree of semi-evergreen to evergreen forests, found in both hilly areas and plains, but growing best along riverbanks and in valleys; growing at elevations from 50-1,800 metres.

More

It is a tropical plant. It suits the hot, wet, tropical lowlands. In Sri Lanka it grows up to 500 m above sea level.

Light	-
Soil humidity	-
Soil texture	-
Soil acidity	-
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

It is used in Asian cooking to give acid flavours. The rind is dried and used to sour tamarind like condiments for fish dishes and curries. The leaves are used as a substitute for tamarind. The fruit are also pickled. The fruit is used as juice. The seeds yield an edible fat.

Uses	dye food gum material medicinal wood
Edible	fruits leaves seeds
Therapeutic use	Pain (fruit), Against induced gastric mucosa damage (fruit), Abdominal pain (fruit), Anti-bacterial agents (fruit), Antirheumatic agents (fruit), Cathartics (fruit), Cholesterol (fruit), Common cold (fruit), Constipation (fruit), Diabetes mellitus (fruit), Diarrhea (fruit), Digestive system diseases (fruit), Dysentery (fruit), Dyspepsia (fruit), Emetics (fruit), Fever (fruit), Hemorrhoids (fruit), Hyperlipidemias (fruit), Inflammatory bowel diseases (fruit), Liver diseases (fruit), Obesity (fruit), Rickets (fruit), Splenomegaly (fruit), Ulcer (fruit), Anti-bacterial agents (leaf), Antirheumatic agents (leaf), Cathartics (leaf), Cholesterol (leaf), Diabetes mellitus (leaf), Diarrhea (leaf), Diuretics (leaf), Dysentery (leaf), Dyspepsia (leaf), Emetics (leaf), Flatulence (leaf), Hemorrhage (leaf), Hemorrhoids (leaf), Inflammation (leaf), Inflammatory bowel diseases (leaf), Obesity (leaf), Thirst (leaf), Ulcer (leaf), Cathartics (plant exudate), Anti-bacterial agents (seed), Antifungal agents (seed), Cathartics (seed), Diarrhea (seed), Dysentery (seed), Dyspepsia (seed), Emetics (seed), Hemorrhoids (seed), Obesity (seed), Antiseptic (unspecified), Bowel (unspecified), Purgative (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Stomatitis(Veterinary) (unspecified), Antifungal agents (unspecified), Fractures, bone (unspecified)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from fresh seeds. The hard seed coat needs to be broken. Seeds should be soaked in water before planting.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-