Granite garcinia, Granite mangosteen
Garcinia buchananii
Family: Clusiaceae
What it is like
A small evergreen understorey tree. It grows 6-13 m high. The crown is often thick and dark with many branches. All parts of the plant contain a sticky yellow sap. The bark is smooth and dark grey but becomes rough and flaky. The leaves are produced opposite each other. They are thick and leathery. The upper surface is shiny dark green and they are paler underneath. The edge of the leaf is rolled up and wavy. The leaves are oval and 6-12 cm long. The tip has a long point. The base is narrowed to a very short leaf stalk. The leaf stalk and main midrib is often tinged red. The flowers are white, yellow or orange. They are about 1 cm across. The female flower occurs alone and the male flowers in clusters of 2-3. There are 4 petals and sepals around a sticky orange centre. The flower is x-shaped when open. The fruit are fleshy berries. They are yellow-orange when mature. They are rounded and 2.5 cm across. They are edible but acid.
The fruit has a high vitamin C content. There are about 300 Garcinia species.
Where it is found
A tropical plant. It grows in high rainfall savannah woodland in Uganda. It grows in both wet and dry regions. It grows near the edges of forests along rivers. In Zimbabwe it grows between 920-1,820 m above sea level. In Tanzania it grows from sea level to 1,800 m above sea level and in areas with a rainfall between 800-1,800 mm. It grows well on sandy loams.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Angola, Burundi, Central Africa, Congo DR, East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How it is used for food
The fruit are eaten raw. The seeds are baked and eaten. Fruit are used to make wine.
Edible parts
Fruit, seeds
How it is grown
Plants grow naturally from seed. They can be grown from seeds and it is best to put them in nursery pots then transplant. To collect seed, ripe fruit are put in a cool place for the flesh to rot away then dried in the sun before separating the seed. The seed should be soaked overnight before sowing to break the seed coat. Seed should be sown fresh. They can be stored for 2 months in a cool place.
In Uganda flowers occur in December to January and fruit in January to April. In Zimbabwe fruit are ready from November to January. In Tanzania fruit are collected from April to June. Fruit are harvested by climbing the tree.
Its other names
Local names
Amasarasi, Atenum, Kasolyo, Mgobwe, Miduma, Museka, Musela, Mutunduru, Nsaali, Umusalasi, Unsongwa