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Garcinia livingstonei
Also called African Mangosteen, Lowveld Mangosteen, Imbé
Garcinia livingstonei is a small evergreen tree from tropical and southern Africa, grown mainly as an ornamental and for its small, sweet-acidic orange fruit. Fruit needs both male and female plants, or grafting, to set.
Garcinia livingstonei (African mangosteen, lowveld mangosteen, Livingstone's garcinia or imbe) is a species of Garcinia, native to a broad area of tropical Africa, from Senegal east to Somalia, south to South Africa, and to the Comoros.
It is an evergreen small tree, growing to 6–18 m tall. The leaves are borne in opposite pairs or whorls of 3–4, each leaf blue-green, oval, 6–11 cm long and 3–5.5 cm broad. The flowers are produced in clusters on the stems. The fruit is a small, bright, orange, thin-skinned berry 1–4 cm diameter, with one single large seed; the small yield of edible fruit is pleasantly sweet, yet acidic, but also containing a latex that some people find unpleasant.
A traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.
It is mainly grown as an ornamental fruit, but is sometimes eaten. The juice is known for staining very badly. Mostly eaten fresh, it is also used in drinks. It can be grown in southern Florida.
Garcinia assamica · Garcinia atroviridis · Indian Gamboge Tree · Garcinia celebica · Brindal Berry · Gourka · Garcinia forbesii · Achacha · Malabar Tamarind · Hanbury's garcinia · Wild Mammee · Garcinia
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Garcinia livingstonei by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
