Common Name: Asam Gelugur

General Information

Garcinia atroviridis is an evergreen tree growing 20 metres or more tall[].
The tree is a popular herbal treatment in southeast Asia, especially Thailand, and is also occasionally cultivated in gardens, and semi-cultivated in the surrounding forest, for its edible fruit[, , ]. At present, the products of asam gelugur are becoming popular as a health food, and are sold in the markets in different forms such as tea, capsules and fruit slices[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia.

Habitat

Found as individual trees in the mixed, evergreen forest of high rainfall areas[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	20.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is easily grown with almost no pest and disease problems and requires very little care[].

Edible Uses

The large fruit has a very acid pulp which can be eaten raw or cooked[, ]. It makes excellent jellies and compotes and can also be dried then added to soups[, ]. The fruits are globose and about 7-10 cm in diameter. A mature fruit can weigh up to 2 kg. The bright orange-yellow fruit skin is thin and smooth. The fruit contains several seeds 1.5 cm long, which are flattened and surrounded by bright orange pulp (arillode).

The mature fruits are sour. The fully grown but still green fruits are sliced, dried, and used as seasoning or sour relish[].

The rind of the fruit is used as a sour, tamarind-like flavouring in curries, soups etc[, ].

Young shoots - cooked and used as a vegetable[].

Medicinal

The dried fruit is used for improving blood circulation, as an expectorant, treatment of coughs and as a laxative[]. It is believed that the fruit extract can promote good health by reducing blood-cholesterol levels and enlarging the blood vessels, absorbing excess fat etc. It is commonly used in diets in southeast Asia[].

A decoction of leaves and roots is used in the treatment of ear aches[].

Other Uses

A thick, yellow, usually resinous latex is obtained from the bark, branches and fruits[].
The dried fruits are used as fixatives with alum for dyeing silk fabrics[, ].

An extract of the fruit is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as a skin conditioner[].

The wood is hard[].

Propagation

Seed - It has been observed, but not scientifically proven, that trees grown from seedlings resulted in more male than female trees[]. We have no specific information on this species, but the seed of most members of the genus can be slow to germinate, even if sown fresh, often taking 6 months or more[].
Grafting or inarching bud wood of known sex onto seedling trees may produce plants of the desired sex which can bear fruits within 4-5 years of grafting[].

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