Garcinia gummi-gutta is a tropical species of Garcinia native to India. Common names include Garcinia cambogia (a former scientific name), as well as brindle berry, and Malabar tamarind. It is a tree which grows up to 20 metres tall. The fruit looks like a small pumpkin and is green to pale yellow in color. The species is native to the central and southern Western Ghats of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu states in southwestern India. It grows in lowland and montane moist evergreen forest, generally as an understorey tree along stream banks, up to 1,800 metres (5,910 ft) elevation. It has been introduced or is in cultivation elsewhere in India and Southeast Asia.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it poisonous?
We have no record of Malabar tamarind being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
- Garcinia atroviridis
- Garcinia warrenii
- Eschweilera ovata
- Garcinia oblongifolia
- Diospyros malabarica
- Myristica fragrans — considered toxic
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Malpighiales
- Family
- Clusiaceae
- Genus
- Garcinia
- Species
- Garcinia gummi-gutta
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