Garcinia intermedia

Garcinia intermedia is a small understory tree from Central America, with sweet-tart citrus like fruits, that have a unique flavor that con only be described as mangosteeny. This tree will produce heavily as a small specimen. I’ve gotten them to produce at less than two years old from seed.

In the tropics of Mexico and Central America, there is a little-known fruit species whose fruits are consumed as fresh fruit for their nutritional or medicinal value. The fruits of Garcinia intermedia have a pleasant taste and white pulp. This fruit is mostly harvested in situ, and comes from trees that bear fruit only 2 or 3 years after germination. This fruit tree is from the same family as the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) According to Einbond et al. (2013), G. intermedia also has medicinal uses, since benzophenones extracted from the fruit inhibit the growth of human colon cancer cells.

I have found scale on developing fruit to be a problem for this fruit tree. It mostly causes marks on the skin which don’t impact the fruit quality.

Origin

Central America

Family

Clusiaceae

Binomial nomenclature

Garcinia intermedia

Common names

Lemon Drop Mangosteen

Description

15-20 feet tall, up to 60 feet in its natural environment

Temperature/Zone

zone 9b, 32°F. This plant prefers humid conditions. Frost will burn this tree.

Light

Part sun. Especially for small seedlings. The larger the tree, the more sun it can take.

Water

Garcinia intermedia is rather drought tolerant, but I still keep it evenly moist. I water much more heavily in summer than in winter.

Fertilizer

I use a granular all purpose vegetable garden fertilizer.

Cultivation

Well draining soil.

Pests

Scale is a particular problem, especially on the developing fruit.

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references
Garcinia intermedia, a little-known fruit tree in the American tropics

Jorge Andrés-Agustín

Juan Guillermo Cruz-Castillo

José Carlos Bautista-Villegas