Garcinia Xanthochymus

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Devi Nair

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Mar 12, 2010, 12:03:46 AM3/12/10
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Picture taken at Kozhikode, Kerala, at home  in the first week of March, 2010.

I got the following information from this link. It says that in South India, the fruit is used as a substitute for tamarind; but we usually use Garcinia Cambogia [ Kudampuli].

 Maybe other members could correct or add information.

Regards,

Devi.

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Syn : Xanthochymus tinctorius DC., Garcinia tinctoria Dunn.

English name: Egg tree.

Sanskrit names: Tamala, Tapinjha.

Vernacular names: Ben: Tamal, Chalta;  Hin : Dampel, Tamal, Tumul; Guj : Kasamala, Ota; Kan:Deva-garige; Mal: Anavaya; Man: Heilbung; Mar: Jharambi, Dampel, Ota; Nep : Chunyel; Ori : Cheoro, Sitambu; Tam: Kulavi, Malaippachai, Mukki, Tamalam; Tel: Sitakamraku, Evarumidi, Tamalamu.

Trade name: Tamala.

Traditional use: Fruit: antiscorbutic, cooling, digestive, emollient, demulcent and cholagogue. Sherbet made from dried fruit is used in billiousness.

AYURVEOA : Young branch: paste as ointment on boils; Bark: astringent; Leaf: decoction useful in diarrhoea; Young leaves (roasted in a special method) : used in dysentery; Seed: butter made from seeds useful in pulmonary affections, dysentery, goitre.

Modern use: Xanthochymol : antibacterial against Streptococcus faecallis and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Phytography : Evergreen tree, trunk straight; branches arising in tiers, drooping, angular; leaves opposite, coriaceous, bright green, shining, 22.5-45.0 cm by 5-10 cm; flowers polygamous, male flowers from axils of fallen leaves, fascicled with 4-8 flowers, white, thick, rough, hermaphrodites like male flowers, ovary ovoid, usually 5:chambered; fruits subglobose, pointed, dark yellow; seeds 1-4, oblong, yields a large quantity of gamboge.

Phenology: Flowering: Spring; Fruiting: Summer.

Distribution: Native to India and Myanmar; distributed widely in the lower hill forests of eastern Himalaya, Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, the Andamans; Bangladesh, Myanmar.

Ecology and cultivation: Tropical forest; wild.

Chemical contents: Fruit: xanthochymol, isoxanthochymol, maclurin, euxanthone, 1,5-dihydroxy- and 1,3,5-trihydroxy-xanthones, methoxyxanthones, cambogin, volkensiflavone, morello-flavone, biflavones.

Remark: In South India, fruits of this species are used in lieu of tamarind.








--
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.
-- Douglas Jerrold.

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Dr Santhosh Kumar

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Mar 13, 2010, 8:59:31 PM3/13/10
to Devi Nair, indian...@googlegroups.com
Dear Devi Ji,

yes your plant is correct. It is scarcely distributed in the Northern Kerala.

Dr E S Santhosh 


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SANTHOSH
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Dr. E.S. Santhosh Kumar
Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode
Thiruvananthapuram-695562
Kerala
India
www.drsanthosh.wetpaint.com

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