Common Name:

General Information

Garcinia buchananii is an evergreen under-storey tree, often densely branched with a thick dark shady crown; it can grow 6 - 13 metres tall[]. All parts of the plant contain a rather sticky yellow sap[].
The tree is harvested from the wild as a local source of food, medicine, dyes and wood. It is sometimes planted as an ornamental and to provide shade[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - southern Sudan, Ethiopia, eastern DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique.

Habitat

Evergreen forest, riverine thickets, densely wooded grassland and in coastal forest on pure sand, at elevations from sea level to 1,800 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropics, it grows in Tanzania in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 800 - 1,800mm[].
Thrives well on sandy loams[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms usually need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[]. At least some dioecious Garcinia species, however, are able to produce fertile seed even in the absence of fertilization (asexual reproduction). Such seeds would be expected to be genetically identical to the parent[]

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. Tasty[]. A very acid pulp inside a hard, tough outer skin[]. The fruit is fermented to make an alcoholic beverage[]. The fleshy, yellow-orange, globose berries are up to 25mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

An infusion from the roots is used as an aphrodisiac and as a lotion for sores[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The species can be grown as a pure fruit orchard or intercropped with coffee[].

Other Uses

The sap yields a yellow dye[].

The wood is used to make tool handles, spoons, milk pots and stools[].
The wood is used for fuel and to make charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - 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[].

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