Garcinia gummigutta (L.) N. Robson (GUTTIFERAE)
Common names
English: Malabar Camboge.
Kannada: Manthu huli, Uppagi mara.
Malayalam: Kodapuli, Gorakkapuli.
Description: Trees, up to 20 m tall with round canopy; bark grey or dark brown, rugose, exudes yellow gum; branchlets horizontal or drooping. Leaves Trees, up to 20 m tall with round canopy; bark grey or dark brown, rugose, exudes yellow gum; branchlets horizontal or drooping. Leavesoblong, elliptic or lanceloate, 7-15×2-7 cm, cuneate at base, acute to obtusely short acuminate at apex, entire, glossy, dark green; lateral veins indefinite, slender, prominent, oblique; petioles up to 2 cm long, channeled. Male flowers 3-5 in short axillary fascicles, white or pale green. Sepals 4, ovate or obovate, unequal. Petals 4, obovate or oblong. Stamens 12-20 or more inserted on a prominent receptacle; anthers bilocular, basifixed. Rudimentary pistil absent or minute. Bisexual flowers 1-3 in terminal and axillary fascicles, larger than male flowers. Sepals and petals similar to those of male flowers. Stamen 10-20, connate at base in a ring round the ovary or grouped in unequal bundles; anthers bilocular, fertile or often a few sterile. Ovary 8-11- sulcate. The fruit is a spherical berry, reaching up to 7 cm in diameter, with 6-8 grooves and a yellow hue when ripe. It contains 6-8 ovoid seeds, approximately 3 cm across, that are compressed and pale brown, enveloped by a succulent aril in either white or red.
Flowering & Fruiting: January – September.
Distribution: India: Common in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests and also in shola forests of Western Ghats up to 1830 m. Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic.
Uses: The fruits are acidic and eaten raw or pickled. The rind is used as a condiment for flavouring curries and as a substitute for tamarind and lime. Wood is suitable for matchboxes, splints and posts.The gum from the fruit makes a good varnish. The ‘gummi-gutta’ or ‘gamboge’ is principally used as a pigment is miniature painting and water colours. The rind of the fruit is used for polishing gold and silver ornaments and as a substitute for acetic and formic acids for coagulation of rubber latex. Fruit is antiseptic; decoction of rind given in rheumatism, bowel complaints; resin used as purgative. Decoction of rind used as mouth wash in cattle.