Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) Robson

Garcinia cambogia (Gaertn.) Desr.                               
CLUSIACEAE (Guttiferae)

 

Vernacular names:

Hindi             - Bilatti-amli

Kannada        - Upagi mara, Simai hunase

Malayalam      - Kodam puli, Meen puli, Perum puli

Marathi          - Oharambe

Tamil             - Penam puli, Kodakka puli

Telugu            - Sima chinta

 

Threat status:

Lower Risk near threatened - Globally

 

Habit: Tree

 

Habitat: Semi-evergreen to evergreen forests

 

Altitude: 50 - 1800 m

 

Distribution: Endemic to Western Ghats in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Regional: In Maharashtra, occurs in Bombay and the Konkan region of Goa. In Karnataka and Kerala, common throughout the Ghats. In Tamil Nadu, occasional in the Western Ghats of Coimbatore, Nilgiri and Tirunelveli districts and also collected in the Eastern Ghats (Melagiris) of Dharmapuri district. Also cultivated in many parts of southern India.

 

Description: Medium sized trees, 5-15 m tall. Bark about 5 mm thick, brown, smooth, exudes yellow gum when cut freshly. Blaze deep yellow. Mature branches horizontal or drooping. Leaves opposite, 7-15 x 2-7 em, oblong, elliptic or lanceolate, base wedge-shaped, apex acute to rounded, margin entire, hairless, glossy, dark green; lateral nerves 10-20 pairs, parallel, slender, prominent; leaf stalks about 1.2 cm long, stout, centrally grooved. Male, female & bisexual flowers are separately seen in same or different plants, sub-fleshy, distinctly stalked; male flowers in a group of 5-10 seen in leaf axils or on branches, about 1.5 cm long, 1 cm across, orange-yellow. Female and bisexual flowers solitary or in clusters of 2-3 in terminal and axillary fascicles, orange, slightly larger than male flowers. Berries 3-7 cm across, pome-shaped, fleshy, sub-globose to globose, shiny, hairless, with 4-10 vertical grooves, ripening yellow, with a distinct persistent projection at tip. Seeds 4-10, egg-shaped, about 3 cm long, flat, brown, smooth, shiny, covered with fleshy, white or red aril.

 

Phenology: Flowering: December to February; Fruiting: March to August'

 

Medicinal uses: The leaves, fruits and seed oil are reported to be purgative, hydragogue and emetic. Useful in curing ulcers, inflammations, bieeding piles, diarrhoea, dysentery, indigestion, hyperdipsia and particularly in dropsy and worm cases. Citrin is extracted from the fruits and is reportedly used for treating obesity.

 

Notes: Often cultivated for its fruits. The rind of fruits is used as a condiment to flavour curries in place of tamarind. Three varieties are recognized based on number of stamens and the shape and number of grooves in fruits.

 

Trade information: Local, regional, national and global. Large scale export of 'Garcinia extract' from India, has been recorded in recent years. Fruit pulp used as a condiment (substitute for Tamarind in Kerala). Fruit rind is marketed in large quantities (As. 60 to 70/-per kg). It is mixed with Garcinia indica and sold as Kokam.

 

Mode of propagation: By seeds, stem cuttings and grafts

 

Special characters: The yellow sticky latex from the bark, sour tasting leaves and distinctly grooved fruits are striking field characters.