Mangosteen

Garcinia Mangostana L.

Synonyms : Mangostan

Origin : The place of origin of the mangosteen is unknown but it might be the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas in Malaysia.

Area of culture : The area of culture of the mangosteen is stretching from the South of the Philippines to South India, but it is cultivated primilary in Thaïland, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Hawaï.. : the most in Indonesia and South of the peninsula indochinese.

Description : The mangosteen tree is growing slowly, reaching from 20 to 80 feet in height with a pyramidal crown. The evergreen, elliptic and opposite leaves present two colours: the upper side of the leaf is green and bright; while the lower side is yellow-green and matted.

Flowers appear solitary or in pairs at the branch apex. They are composed of four pink petals with white shade in the middle and four persistent green sepals.

The fruit is round but lightly flattened at both ends. Mangosteen fruit is surrounded by a thick and smooth rind. When the fruit is ripe, the rind passes from yellow-green to red-purple. It contains from 6 to 8 white fruit segments: arils of the seeds.

We remove all the segments as we do for an orange. Mangosteen fruit is known for its aromatic and sweet flesh taste !

Climate conditions : The mangosteen is a strict tropical fruit. As a consequence, it requires high temperatures and a high amount of rainfall through its growing (high atmospheric humidity). It needs an annual rainfall of at least 1500 mm well shared through the growing period of the fruit : it tolerates only brief periods of drought. This water stress will induce blooming. The optimals temperatures for growing are situated between 25 and 30°C : the plant cannot tolerates temperature below 4°C and above 37°C. Mangosteen generally grows from sea level to 1,50 meters high.

Cultural method : The tree needs rich organic soil, and especially sandy soil. Mangosteen is usually propagated by "seeds". The so-called "seeds" are not true seeds because they developed without pollinisation: sexual intervention by pollen.

The capacity to germinate for the seed is lost quickly when the seed is separated from the fruit. As a consequence, seeds need to be sowed fresh and quickly. Procede by stem cuttings is difficult to realize because we have to do it in a water saturated environment.
It is recommended to have a place of around 12 meters for each seed. Planting is preferably done at the beginning of the humid season.

Plants need 50-75% of shade for the first 3 to 5 years: culture using the association of mangosteen trees and banana trees is a good solution !

With a good care, the trees will begin to produce fruits from 6 to 8 years after planting. Young trees produce around 100 to 200 fruits per year and mature trees produce from 500 to 1000 fruits per year (or more).

Uses : Mangosteen is primilary eaten raw but it can also be canned and used to make juices, jams or jellies.