Common Name: Mysore Gamboge

General Information

Garcinia xanthochymus is an evergreen tree with more or less horizontal branches and a dense pyramidal crown; it can grow 8 - 15 metres tall[, ]. It has a short, straight bole[].
The tree is harvested from the wild, and is also cultivated and semi-cultivated, for its edible fruit and dyestuff[]. It is a source of 'gamboge', a gum-resin with a wide range of uses that is commonly harvested from several species in this genus and traded internationally.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - southern China, Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand to Indo-China.

Habitat

Dense humid forests of valleys or on hills at elevations of 600 - 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	10.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the hot, humid tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres[, ]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 16 - 36°c[]. Plants are tolerant of occasional light frosts[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 1,200 - 2,500mm[].
Tolerant of shade[]. Succeeds in most well-drained soils including poor soils and soils with a high pH[, ]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5, tolerating 5.5 - 8[].
A very slow-growing tree[].
Seedling trees can commence fruit production when 7 - 8 years old[].
Flowering usually occurs after a spell of pronounced dry weather and can occur twice a year[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. The thin-skinned fruit is edible but is rather sour[]. Aromatic[]. A pleasant, acid taste, it is mainly used as a breakfast fruit[, ]. It can be eaten fresh, used in sherbets, jams, curries and vinegars, or as a flavouring in other foods[, ]. The fruit is a rich source of citric acid[]. The mature berry is yellow, globose or ovoid, sometimes oblique, 3 - 5 cm in diameter[].

Medicinal

The fruit is antiscorbutic, cholagogue, cooling, emollient and demulcent[]. It is used for the same purposes as Garcinia indica[].

Other Uses

The seeds yield up to 17% oil[].

The juice of the fruit is used as a dye[].

Gamboge, a gum-resin obtained from the plant, is used as a yellow dye, as an illuminant and in varnishes, water colours etc[]. The dye is often used for dyeing the robes of Buddhist priests[].
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[, , , ].

Young plants are used as rootstocks for the mangosteen, Garcinia mangostana[].

The dark greyish-brown wood is close-grained, strong and very hard. Of good quality, but generally not used[].

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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