''Garcinia indica'', a plant in the

mangosteen Mangosteen (''Garcinia mangostana''), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to Island Southeast Asia, from the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. It has been cultivated extensively in tropical Asia ...

family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as ''kokum'', is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. It grows primarily in India's Western Ghats: in the states of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It is considered as an endemic species to the Western Ghats and forests in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Plant description

Garcinia indica is a medium-sized evergreen tree. It grows to a height of about 18 m. The tree has drooping branches. The berries ripen in the summer. They are spherical with a diameter of about 5 cm. They have indentations on the top, on the stalk, and on the bottom. Each berry has 5 to 8 seeds surrounded by a sweet and sour pulp that contains some fibers. They are initially green, but turn red as they ripen.

Taxonomy

The genus ''

Garcinia ''Garcinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Clusiaceae native to the Sundaland bioregion of Asia, America, Australia, tropical and southern Africa, and Polynesia. The number of species is disputed; Plants of the W ...

'', belonging to the family Clusiaceae, includes about 200 species found in the Old World tropics, mostly in Asia and Africa. ''Garcinia indica'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, monoecious

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

, which can grow up to 18 meters high, on maturity attaining a pyramid shape. The fruit, an orange-sized purple berry with fleshy

endocarp Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Fruitlike structures may develop directly from the seed itself rather th ...

, contains five to eight seeds, which account for 20–23% of the fruit's weight. The kernels account for 61 percent of the weight of the seed and about 44% of its oil. The seeds are compressed and embedded in an acidic pulp.

Distribution

''Garcinia indica'' is indigenous to the tropical forest regions of

. Of the 35 species found in India, 17 are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

. Of these, seven are endemic to the Western Ghats, six in the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

and four in the northeastern region of India. The Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri Kokum variety from the

Ratnagiri Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in southwestern Maharashtra, India. The district is part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for the Hapus or ...

and

Sindhudurg Sindhudurg Fort (Marathi pronunciation: in̪d̪ʱud̪uɾɡ is a historical sea fort located in Arabian Sea near the Konkan region of Maharashtra in Western India. The fort, commissioned by Chhatrapati Shivaji, was constructed between 1664 ...

districts from the coastal

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

region of the state of

in India has received the GI (

Geographical Indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town or region). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, is inten ...

) tag. ''Garcinia indica'' is found in forest lands, riversides and wastelands. These plants prefer

evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zo ...

s, but sometimes they also thrive in areas with relatively low rainfall. It is also cultivated on a small scale. It does not require irrigation, spraying with pesticides or fertilizers.

Uses

Culinary uses

The outer cover of fruit is dried in the sun to get or . It is used as a souring agent typically in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. Kokum yields a distinctive flavour and deep-red colour. As a souring agent, it is used as an alternative to

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

in curries and other dishes from south India. It is also used in cuisine from

, where it is frequently used to add flavor and tartness to

dal Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal ...

(lentil soup) for flavor balance. It is extensively used in Assamese cuisine in many dishes like ''masor tenga'' (sour fish curry) and ''tenga dali'' (sour dal). The fresh fruit is preserved with sugar to make bright-red squash that is diluted with water and bottled for sale as a beverage called Kokum Sarbat. The extract of the fruit is called in

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

. It is added during the preparation of , which may also include

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

, coriander and garlic.

Industrial uses

The seed of ''Garcinia indica'' contains 23–26% Kokum butter, which remains solid at room temperature. It is used in the preparation of chocolate and sugar confectionery.

Medicinal and cosmetics applications

The oily extract called Kukum butter is used in ointments and suppositories. It has application in skin and hair products, acne products and skin tonics. The rind of the fruit is a good source of hydroxycitric acid which has been claimed to modify lipid metabolism.

Other uses

The tree is ornamental, with a dense canopy of green leaves and red-tinged, tender, young leaves.

Gallery

File:ಮುರುಗಲ ಹಣ್ಣು.jpg, Ripe Kokum fruit File:Kokam Fruit Recipe with Sugar Garcinia indica fruit.jpg, Fresh Kokum fruit filled with sugar in glass jar and kept under the sun to make kokum syrup for refreshments. File:Garcinia indica fruit.jpg, Kokum fruits being prepared to make syrup File:Garcinia indica red drink prepared from dried rinds.jpg, Kokum drink prepared from dried rinds File:Agsol (23977801001).jpg, Goan fish curry Agsol with dried kokum rinds for flavoring File:Solkadhi.jpg,

Solkadhi Solkadhi is a type of drink, an appetizer originating from the Indian subcontinent, usually eaten with rice or sometimes drunk after or along with the meal. Popular in the Konkan regions, especially Goa, Mangalore and parts of coastal Maharash ...

made from coconut milk and kokum

References

External links

Plant database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2095514 indica Spices Sour fruits Medicinal plants of Africa Medicinal plants of Asia Tropical fruit Flora of India (region) Indian spices Maharashtrian cuisine