Garcinia punctata

Oliv.

ClusiaceaeSeeds/Nuts

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Rahaingoson Fabien, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) David Rabehevitra, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Nuts

The fruit are eaten raw. The seeds are also consumed as nuts.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in dense forest. It is often in wet situations and then have stilt roots.

Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, East Africa, Malawi, Nigeria, West Africa, Zambia,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A tropical tree in the Clusiaceae family that grows 8-12 m high with a trunk approximately 30 cm in diameter. It inhabits dense forests, often in wet areas where it develops stilt roots.

How to Grow

A dioecious species, both male and female forms usually need to be grown if fruit and seed are required. At least some dioecious Garcinia species, however, are able to produce fertile seed even in the absence of fertilization (asexual reproduction). Such seeds would be expected to be genetically identical to the parent

Propagation: Seed - we have no specific information on this species, but the seed of most members of the genus can be slow to germinate, even if sown fresh, often taking 6 months or more.

Medicinal Uses

The powdered bark is applied to snake-bites. Sap from the bark, or a decoction of the bark, is taken by draught for the treatment of costal pain and cough; the painful areas are scarified and embrocated with the leaf-sap of this species to which has been added gunpowder and charcoal made from the wood of Schwenckia americana L., and Dichrostachys glomerata (Forssk.) Chiov..

Production

In Central African Republic flowers have been recorded in February and March.

Names & Synonyms

Oro

Garcinia dandii De Wild.Garcinia longiacuminata Engl. ex De Willd.

References (3)

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 2. Kew.
Terashima, H., & Ichikawa, M., 2003, A comparative ethnobotany of the Mbuti and Efe hunter-gatherers in the Ituri Forest, Democratic Republic of Congo. African Study Monographs, 24 (1, 2): 1-168, March 2003
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew