Botanical Name: Garcinia brasiliensis
Family: Clusiaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Malpighiales
Genus: Garcinia
Species: G. gardneriana
Synonyms:
*Garcinia gardneriana
*Garcinia gardneriana (Planch. & Triana) Zappi
*Rheedia brasiliensis (Mart.) Planch. & Triana
*Rheedia gardneriana Planch. & Triana
*Rheedia spruceana Engl.
Common Names: Bacupari
Habitat: Garcinia brasiliensis is native to S. America – Argentina, Paraguay, eastern Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, French Guiana.It grows in secondary forests, by rivers, floodplains, coastal moist broadleaved forests etc.
Description:
Garcinia brasiliensis is an evergreen tree growing to 6 m (19ft) by 5 m (16ft) at a slow rate. The very attractive tree is pyramidal like that of the bakuri but smaller; is equally rich in yellow latex. The tree grows wild in the state of Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil and adjacent Paraguay; is rarely cultivated. It blooms in December and matures its fruit in January and February. 2
Leaves: Short-petioled, ovate, oblong-ovate or lanceolate, narrowed at the base, blunt or slightly pointed at the apex, and leathery. 2
Flowers : Inflorescences: male flowers are more numerous along with 3-5 androgynous flowers per inflorescence on fascibles with a verticillate aspect. 4
Fruit: The fruit, ovate, pointed at the apex, may be 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in long, with orange-yellow, pliable, leathery, tough skin, 1/8 in thick and easily removed. The aril-like pulp is white, translucent, soft, sub-acid, of excellent flavor, and encloses 2 rounded seeds.
Cultivation:
An understorey tree. It can be in seasonally flooded forest. A cultivated fruit tree. The fruit are popular. Fruit are sold in local markets. A plant of the moist tropics. Succeeds in full sun or light shade. It does best and fruits more readily in full sun. Plants can tolerate at least some inundation. Newly planted young trees establish and grow away fairly slowly.
Edible Uses:
Fruit – raw. The aril-like translucent subacid white pulp has an excellent flavour, suggesting that of the mangosteen. A highly prized fruit, usually eaten fresh but also makes an excellent jam. The ovate fruit may be 32 – 40mm long, with an orange-yellow, pliable, leathery, tough skin, 3 mm thick that is easily removed.
Medicinal Uses:
The seeds contain 8 to 9% oil (by weight), which is used in poultices on wounds, whitlows, tumours and, externally, over an enlarged liver. An infusion of the pulp has a narcotic action with an effect like that of nicotine. The root bark extract contains rheediaxanthone and a polyprenylated benzophenone, other lesser constituents, and 3 new prenylated xanthones.
Other Uses: The wood is irregular-grained, coarse-textured, heavy, moderately susceptible to rot. It is suitable only for rural construction. The wood is used for fuel. We do not have any more information on the wood of this species, but a general description of the wood for trees in the Americas which were formerly considered to be in the genus Rheedia is as follows:- The heartwood is dark yellow-brown, grayish- or pinkish-brown, merging gradually into the sapwood; surfaces are sometimes specked with resinous exudations. The texture is medium to coarse; the grain straight to irregular and roey; luster medium to rather low; it is free from discernible odour or taste. Species in Surinam are rated durable to attack by decay fungi and fairly resistant to dry wood termites. Species in Colombia are resistant to a brown-rot fungus but not the white-rot in a laboratory assay. Under field conditions the wood was susceptible to decay and attack by insects. It dries rapidly, but is reported to be moderately difficult to air season, tending to warp and check. Reports on workability vary with species from moderate to high resistance to cutting to machining fairly well; reports on ease of finishing are also variable. The wood is used for purposes such as furniture, flooring (quarter sawn), heavy construction, and general carpentry
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garcinia_gardneriana
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Garcinia+brasiliensis
https://www.growables.org/information/TropicalFruit/Bakupari-Rheediabrasiliensis.htm
