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 IPNI) : 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.
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Garcinia indica. Downloaded on 2 July 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

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India Distribution

World Distribution

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