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Garcinia xanthochymus

False Mangosteen

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: False Mangosteen, Eggtree, Gamboge Tree, Sour Mangosteen, Cochin-goraka

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE se. Asia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; S.Group - rare.; Land, lowlands, gardens

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food (Fruit 0+)

KEY FEATURES: Tree to 12m with thick, gloosy dark green, drooping leaves to 30x10cm. Flowers axil 4-8; 2cmØ; sepals 5 green, petals 5 white. Fruit smooth, to 7cmØ, dark yellow, 1-2 large seeds within acidic yellow pulp.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Rata (Garcinia dulcis - not presently recorded in Cook Islands) has branchlets without sharp ridges (vs. with sharp ridges), with short leaf-stalks to 5mm (vs 10-20mm); lateral veins 15-25 (vs. 35-45).

Enlarged Image of 'Garcinia xanthochymus'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: -
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+	+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Garcinia xanthochymus Hook.f.
SYNONYMS: Garcinia tinctoria; Xanthochymus tinctorius; Xanthochymus pictorius

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); DILLENIIDAE; Theales; CLUSIACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food (Fruit 0+). Comments: pulp (=aril) around seed pleasantly acid, used to make drink (elsehwere).

IDENTIFICATION: Tree to 12m. BRANCHLETS drying with several sharp ridges. LEAVES opposite, thick, glossy dark green, hanging, oblong to 30x10cm, 35-45 parallel lateral veins, tip acute. FLOWERS white, 2cmØ; petals and sepals 5 each; axil clusters of 4-8. FRUIT: smooth, dark yellow, globose to 7cmØ, persistent stigma usually off-centre; flesh yellow, acidic but refreshing; with 1-2 seeds, 25x15mm, within yellow fresh (=aril).

GENERAL NOTE: Gamboge is an intense-yellow pigment from the sap of a related tree (Garcinia morella) of Sir Lanka and se.Asia.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen, 1990s, 1 at Tongia home Ara Metua, ID B.Sykes; 1 at McBirney s.Arorangi & 1 behind Matavera Packing Shed, ID GMcC.

References:
p.494 Hortus 3rd
p.492 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.521 Tropica
p.2/346 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zD02, zM03b

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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