Garcinia warrenii

Garcinia warrenii
Native mangosteen fruit on tree.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Clusiaceae
Genus:	Garcinia
Species:	G. warrenii
Binomial name
Garcinia warrenii Mueller, F.J.H. von (1891)

Garcinia warrenii, a is a fruit-bearing tree, up to 15 metres in height, of the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as native mangosteen or Warren's mangosteen. It is found in the tropical rainforests of northern and north-eastern Australia and New Guinea. The genus Garcinia, belonging to the family Clusiaceae, includes about 200 species found in the Old World tropics, mostly in Asia and Africa. Garcinia warrenii is indigenous to New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands, northeastern Queensland from Cape York Peninsula south to Babinda,^[1] and a small, isolated population on Melville Island in the Northern Territory, Australia.^[2]

Garcinia warrenii is found in rain forest, littoral rainforest and riparian forest from 0 to 780 m.^[3]

Photo of native mangosteen leaf and fruit

Photo of native mangosteen tree

Uses

There are five species of native Garcinia in north Queensland forests but Garcinia warrenii is the only edible one.^[4] While the fruits are edible, they are not widely sought after.^[5][6]

Description

Garcinia warrenii is a close relative of the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana). This bushy small tree grows up to 15 metres high, they grow straight up and are often difficult to see in the forest. It has fragrant white flowers and purple sweet edible fruit. The thick, leathery leaves are often stained with mould or lichens. Broken petioles (leaf stalks) and twigs produce a sticky yellow exudate. Leaf blades are about 10 to 16 x 48 cm. The fruit are eaten by Pteropus (fruit bats).

References

• Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. 2004. Wendy Cooper; illustrated by William T. Cooper. Nokomis Editions, Melbourne.
• Plants of Cape York: the Compact Guide. John Beasley. 2009.
• Plants of Tropical North Queensland: the Compact Guide. John Beasley. Footloose Publications, Kuranda. 2006.

Notes

1. Garcinia warrenii Factsheet
2. Threatened Species of the Northern Territory
3. Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest, p. 124
4. http://www.rarefruitaustralia.org/2006/05/25/mangosteen-nutrition-management/
5. Plants of Cape York: the Compact Guide, p. 154
6. Plants of Tropical North Queensland: the Compact Guide, p. 90.

External links

• Garcinia warrenii Factsheet
• Threatened Species of the Northern Territory