Malabar tamarind
Garcinia gummi-gutta

Family: Clusiaceae

What it is like

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.

There are about 300 Garcinia species.

Where it is found

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

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Northeastern India, Philippines, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand

How it is used for food

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.

Available in Chinese stores in Australia. It is a cultivated fruit tree.

Edible parts

Fruit, leaves, seeds-fat, skin rind -spice

How it is grown

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

In southern India plants fruit April to May. In Northeastern India fruit are available May to July.

Its other names

Local names

Aradal, Akouk, Dharambe, Gamboge, Goraka, Inli, Kadumpuli, Kana goraka, Karukkampuli, Kodakkapuli, Kodampuli, Kodapuli, Kodukka puli, Kouk, Kowagota, Oante huli, Oante puli, Pinampuli, Rata goraka, Simachinta, Simai hunase, Upagi mara, Vilaiti, Vilati-amli

Synonyms

Cambogia binucao Blanco; Cambogia gemmi-gutta L.; Cambogia solitaria Stokes; Garcinia affinis Wight and Arn.; Garcinia cambogia (Gaertn.) Desr.; Garcinia sulcata Stokes; Mangostana cambogia Gaertner; Stalagmitis gutta G. Don;