Bark
The bark is dark and smooth.
Garcinia gummi-gutta
Syn. Garcinia cambogia
IUCN Red List
Least Concern
(LC)
Local name
- Malabar-tamarind (English)
- Kudampuli (Malayalam)
Tree type
Evergreen
Deciduous
Family: Clusiaceae
20m
Indicated uses
Medicinal
Edible
Ornamental
Avenue
Other
Flowering & fruiting
Flowering
Fruiting
Key characters
Leaves
Leaves are opposite, stalked, dark green, shining, 13–18 by 4–8 cm, elliptic to obovate, hairless. Leaf-stalks are 1.2–2.2 cm long.
Flower
Flowers are borne in clusters of 4–20, are usually red, but some trees have yellow ones. Petals are normally 4, each about 1.2 cm wide, 1.1 cm long, anthers attached to a pistillode with a non-functional stigma.
Fruit / Seeds
Fruit is a green, ovoid berry, with 6–8 grooves, 5 cm in diameter, yellow or red when ripe. Seed 6–8, smooth, large, about 5 cm long and 2 cm wide surrounded by a succulent aril.
Did you know?
Garcinia gummi-gutta plants cannot be visually sexed until flowering, which may begin 7–9 years after planting. In Kerala, its dried, smoke-cured rind, called Kudam Puli (“Pot Tamarind”), is used to add smoky sourness to Meen Curry and preserves fish.
Distribution
W. India