Herbarium JCB

Garcinia indica (Dupetit-Thouars) Choisy

Family : CLUSIACEAE
(Garcinia Or Kokam Family)
Family (Hindi name) : KOKAM FAMILY (कोकम फैमिली)
Family (as per The APG System III) : CLUSIACEAE
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Garcinia indica (Thouars) Choisy
Common name : Coccum, Brindonia tallow tree, Goa-Butter, Indian gamboge, Indian Tallow Tree, Kokum, Kokam butter tree, Mangosteen oil tree, Wild mangosteen
Vernacular name : Vrikshamla (Sanskrit); Punerpuli, Murgina hulimari (Kannada); Punampuli (Malayalam); Amsol, Bhinda, Bhiran, Bhirand, Katambi, Kokam, Kokambi, Ratamba (Marathi)
Habit : Tree
Habitat : Cultivated
Comments / notes : Fruits used in making of beverages and as a substitute for tamarind; Oil extracted from seeds can be used for cooking.
Key identification features : A large evergreen tree with long drooping branches and yellow latex. Leaves are opposite, leathery, red when young and oblong lanceolate. Flowers are small (4-8 mm.), axillary as well as terminal, solitary or in fascicles with pedicels thickening upwards. Petals are four while the stamens are many. Fruit is globose, 3 cm., smooth and purple. Bark grey-brown, relatively smooth but with inconspicuous light-coloured vertical fissures; exudes orange-yellow resin when cut. Fruit pulp, edible. Rind in used in making sambar.
Flower, Fruit : November-August
Collection Nos : KFP 7084, KFP 10933
Native : India
Endemism : Western Ghats
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Literature : Cecil J. Saldanha, S. R. Ramesh (1984). Flora of Karnataka State vol. 1. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co, New Delhi; Keshava Murthy & Yoganarasimhan, 1990 - Flora of Coorg district, Karnataka state; Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 – Flora of Udupi District; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Garcinia indica. Downloaded on 3 April 2025.