Garcinia wightii
T.Anderson
Clusiaceae
Common Name: Sour Mangosteen
General Information
Garcinia wightii is an evergreen shrub to small tree, growing up to 10 metres tall[
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials.
Garcinia wightii has a very limited range, and is only known from scattered occurrences in the Western Ghats between Anamalai and Travancore. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(1998)[
338- Title
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
E. Asia - southwest India (Kerala)
Habitat
An understorey trees in moist evergreen and semi-evergreen forests; at elevations up to 700 metres[
].
Properties
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Evergreen Tree |
| Height | 6.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
A dioecious species, both male and female forms must usually 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[
1798- Title
- Taxonomic Revision of Garcinia Section Garcinia (Clusiaceae)
- Publication
- Phytotaxa 373 (1): 001-052
- Author
- Nazre M., Newman M.F., Pennington R.T. & Middleton D.J.
- Website
- https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.373.1.1
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2018
- ISBN
- 1179-3155
- Description
-
]
Edible Uses
The fruit is a plae-green, subglobose berry around 11 - 13mm x 9 - 11mm[
]. We have seen no reports on edibility.
Medicinal
The plant is used in folk medicine[
]. No more information.
Other Uses
A yellow gum-resin obtained from the bark, stems and fruits is the source of a good quality gamboge that is very soluble[
146- Title
- A Manual of Indian Timbers.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Gamble. J. S.
- Publisher
- Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh
- Year
- 1972
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- First written in the 19th century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.
].
The fruit yields a good yellow pigment, used for dyeing cloth etc[
].
Gamboge is a gum-resin which is obtained from the bark, branches and fruits of several species in the genus Garcinia. It contains around 70 - 80% resin with 15 - 25% gum and is used primarily as a pigment, being used to dye cloth (the yellow silken robes of Buddhist monks are often dyed with it), as well as supplying a golden-yellow colouring to varnishes, lacquers, paints, ink, water colours etc[
64- Title
- Vegetable Gums and Resins.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Howes. F. N.
- Publisher
- Faber
- Year
-
- ISBN
- 81-88818-17-8
- Description
- A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.
,
303- Title
- World Agroforesty Centre
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.worldagroforestry.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
,
310- Title
- Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://proseanet.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
,
].
The whitish-brown wood is moderately hard and close-grained[
146- Title
- A Manual of Indian Timbers.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Gamble. J. S.
- Publisher
- Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh
- Year
- 1972
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- First written in the 19th century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.
,
].
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
