Garcinia x mangostana L.

മാങ്കോസ്റ്റീന്‍

Family : Clusiaceae

Synonym : Mangostana garcinia Gaertn.

Common Names : Mangosta, Mangustan, Mangosteen

Flowering Period : Throughout the year

Distribution : Native of Malaysia, widely cultivated in Tropical Asia

Habitat : Cultivated

Uses : Fruits edible. In many Asian countries, the bark and fruit skin are used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. The rind contains a high concentration of tannin and is also used to treat dysentery. The Malays use a decoction of the roots to treat irregular menstruation. In Indonesia, the bark and leaves are considered astringent and also used to control fever. The sap of the mangosteen has been used as a black colouring agent to dye silk. It stains fabric and may also linger on your hands for some time as well.

Key Characters :

Evergreen trees to 20 m high, bark black, smooth. Leaves simple, opposite, decussate; lamina elliptic, margin entire, glossy. Flowers polygamodioecious; male flowers: pale green, 3-9 in terminal fascicles; sepals 4; petals 4, larger than sepals; stamens numerous; bisexual flowers: 1-2 at the apices of branchlets, purple; sepals 4; petals 4, purple; stamens many; ovary superior, globose. Fruit a berry, glossy purplish-black, very pleasant.