Garcinia oblongifolia Seeds | Oblong-leaved Garcinia
LATIN NAME: Garcinia oblongifolia
COMMON NAME: Oblong-Leaved Garcinia
Plant Profile
Garcinia oblongifolia is a small evergreen tree of the warm forests of southern China and Vietnam, growing eight to fifteen metres tall with a straight trunk and a dense, dark crown. The leaves are opposite, leathery and oblong, ten to fifteen centimetres long, with a conspicuous midrib and a margin that is entire rather than toothed.
The flowers are small, fleshy and yellow-green, and they are followed by round, yellow to orange fruit about four centimetres across, with a thin skin, a sour-sweet translucent pulp and two or three large seeds. The tree bleeds a yellow latex when cut, as all members of the genus do. It is a close relative of the mangosteen, and it is gathered in its native range for the fruit rather than cultivated on any scale.
Science & Biotechnology
The genus Garcinia is placed in Clusiaceae, and it is one of the few groups in that family with edible fruit; the yellow latex, which contains xanthones, is a chemical character that unites the genus and separates it from the related Clusia. Garcinia oblongifolia has been studied mainly for those xanthones, some of which show activity against tumour cell lines in the laboratory, though none has reached clinical use.
The fruit is a berry with a leathery rind, and the seeds are surrounded by a fleshy aril that is the part eaten. The species is polygamous, with male and hermaphrodite flowers on separate trees, which is one reason fruit set in cultivation is unreliable. Seed is recalcitrant: it loses viability within days of being removed from the fruit and cannot be dried or stored, so it must be moved from tree to nursery without delay.
Uses & Benefits
The fruit is eaten fresh in southern China and Vietnam, where it is sold in local markets in late summer. The pulp is sour and refreshing, with a flavour somewhere between a mangosteen and a lime, and it is also used to make a sour seasoning and a preserve. The tree is occasionally planted as a shade tree in villages, and its dense crown and leathery leaves make it useful in a warm garden, though it is too large for most.
The wood is hard and reddish and is used locally for construction, and the yellow latex has been used as a dye. As with other Garcinia species, extracts of the rind are sold as supplements, but the evidence for the weight-loss claims made for the genus is much weaker than the marketing suggests, and this species is not the source of those products.
Growing from Seed
Sow the seed within a week of removing it from the fruit, because it has no storage life. Clean off the aril, sow in a mix of loam, sand and leafmould at 25-30 °C, and keep the pan in a shaded, humid frame. Germination takes three to six weeks. The seedlings need shade for their first year and a humid atmosphere, and they grow slowly.
Pot them on into deep containers as the roots fill the pot, and keep them under glass until they are at least a metre tall, since the young tree is damaged by temperatures below 5 °C. Plant out in a sheltered spot in rich, moist, free-draining soil, in light shade, and water regularly for the first three years. The tree fruits at about eight to ten years from seed, and the fruit ripens in late summer.
Our Take
A tropical relative of the mangosteen with a sharp, refreshing fruit. It needs heat, shade and fresh seed, and it will not tolerate cold.
Related Reading
Readers interested in Oblong-Leaved Garcinia frequently explore these as well: