

Initially streaked with red, the exocarp pigmentation transitions from green to red to dark purple, indicating a final ripening stage. Once the developing mangosteen fruit has stopped expanding, chlorophyll synthesis slows as the next colour phase begins. Colour changes and softening of the exocarp are natural processes of ripening that indicates the fruit can be eaten and the seeds have finished developing. The subsurface chemistry of the mangosteen exocarp comprises an array of polyphenols, including xanthones and tannins that assure astringency which discourages infestation by insects, fungi, plant viruses, bacteria and animal predation while the fruit is immature. During this period, the fruit increases in size until its exocarp is 6–8 cm ( 2 + 1⁄ 2–3 in) in outside diameter, remaining hard until a final, abrupt ripening stage. As the fruit enlarges over the next two to three months, the exocarp colour deepens to darker green. The juvenile mangosteen fruit, which does not require fertilisation to form (see agamospermy), first appears as pale green or almost white in the shade of the canopy. The tree grows from 6 to 25 metres (20 to 82 feet) tall. Experienced horticulturists have grown this species outdoors, and brought them to fruit in extreme south Florida. They are known to recover from brief cold spells rather well, often with damage only to young growth. madruno).Ī tropical tree, the mangosteen must be grown in consistently warm conditions, as exposure to temperatures below 0 ☌ (32 ☏) for prolonged periods will usually kill a mature plant. Genus Garcinia also contains several less-known fruit-bearing species, such as the button mangosteen ( G. The seeds are of similar size and shape to almonds. In each fruit, the fragrant edible flesh that surrounds each seed is botanically endocarp, i.e., the inner layer of the ovary. The fruit of the mangosteen is sweet and tangy, juicy, somewhat fibrous, with fluid-filled vesicles ( like the flesh of citrus fruits), with an inedible, deep reddish-purple colored rind ( exocarp) when ripe. It grows mainly in Southeast Asia, southwest India and other tropical areas such as Colombia and Puerto Rico, where the tree has been introduced.


Its origin is uncertain due to widespread prehistoric cultivation. Mangosteen ( Garcinia mangostana), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to tropical lands surrounding the Indian Ocean.
