The mangosteen fruit stands out for its juicy and delicate texture, as well as its slightly astringent flavor, enjoyed fresh, canned, or dried.
Various uses of the plant
The plant is used locally in traditional medicine and has been promoted as an alternative cancer treatment, but there are no clinical studies in humans. The Honduran government has reported that its cultivation has grown significantly in recent years.
Under favorable conditions, the slow-growing mangosteen tree can reach a height of 9.5 meters.
It has thick, dark green, shiny leaves measuring 15-25 cm (6-10 inches) long, which grow in opposite pairs along the stem, and large pink flowers. The fruits are about the size of a small orange, round or flattened at the ends.
Mangosteens have a thick, hard, and intensely red rind that surrounds the white flesh, segmented like tangerine pieces.
The trees take 8 to 15 years to bear fruit. It has been reported that individual trees produce over 1,000 fruits in a season, but plants usually yield good harvests only in alternate years.
An international fruit
The mangosteen has been cultivated since ancient times in Java, Sumatra, Indochina, and the southern Philippines. It is a common garden tree in Indonesia.
The mangosteen bore fruit in English greenhouses in 1855, and later its cultivation was introduced to the Western Hemisphere, where it established itself on several Caribbean islands, especially Jamaica.
It was subsequently established on the mainland in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Ecuador. It can also be grown in southern Florida.
Generally, the mangosteen does not thrive outside the tropics and is usually found fresh only in local markets. Importing the fruit was illegal in the United States until 2007 due to fears of introducing the fruit fly; imported mangosteens must be irradiated first to eliminate the pest.
