''Garcinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Clusiaceae native to Asia, America, Australia, tropical and southern Africa, and Polynesia. The number of species is disputed; Plants of the World Online (POWO) recognise up to 400. Commonly, the plants in this genus are called saptrees, mangosteens (which may also refer specifically to '' Garcinia mangostana''), garcinias, or

monkey fruit Monkey fruit is a common name for several plants and can refer to some species in the following genera: *''Artocarpus'', particularly ''Artocarpus lacucha'' and '' Artocarpus rigidus'' *''Garcinia ''Garcinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in t ...

. Many species are threatened by habitat destruction, and at least one species, '' G. cadelliana'', from

South Andaman Island South Andaman Island is the southernmost island of the Great Andaman and is home to the majority of the population of the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and ...

, is almost or even completely

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

already. The fruits are a food source for several animals, such as the archduke butterflies (''Lexias'' spp.) of tropical eastern Asia which relish the sap of overripe mangosteens. The genus is named after French botanist

Laurent Garcin Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

(1683–1751).

Description

''Garcinia'' species are evergreen trees and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

and in several cases

apomictic In botany, apomixis is asexual reproduction without fertilization. Its etymology is Greek for "away from" + "mixing". This definition notably does not mention meiosis. Thus "normal asexual reproduction" of plants, such as propagation from cuttin ...

. The fruit is a berry with fleshy endocarp, which in several species is delicious. Among neotropical ''Garcinia'' several species are dioecious (

G. leptophylla ''Garcinia leptophylla'' is an evergreen flowering tree in the family Clusiaceae (Guttiferae). The specific epithet (''leptophylla'') comes from Greek language, Greek ''leptos'' (= slender, slim), and ''phyllon'' (= leaf), and refers to the plan ...

, G. macrophylla and G. magnifolia), although female trees have often been observed to have some degree of self-fertility.

Uses

The fruit of most species of ''Garcinia'' are eaten locally; some species' fruits are highly esteemed in one region, but unknown just a few hundred kilometres away. The best-known species is '' Garcinia mangostana'', which is now cultivated throughout Southeast Asia and other tropical countries, having become established in the late 20th century. Less well-known, but still of international importance, are kandis (''G. forbesii'') with small round red fruits with subacid taste and melting flesh, the

lemon drop mangosteen The vernacular name lemon drop mangosteen is applied to two species of tropical American fruit trees. * '' Garcinia intermedia'' * '' Garcinia madruno'' {{Short pages monitor