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Garcinia atroviridis Griff. ex T.Anderson

Family Name:	Clusiaceae (Guttiferae)
Common Name:	Asam Gelugor, Gelugor

Garcinia atroviridis or Asam Gelugor is a native tree of Singapore. Growing to a height of 27 m tall, Asam Gelugor has a narrow conical crown with thick glossy foliage. It has bright red flowers produced singly (female flowers) or in clusters of 10 - 22 blooms (male flowers). The flower has 4 circular to broad-spoon like petals and a button-like stigma. The fruit is fleshy, bright yellow with deep ridges running along the fruit.

Full Sun

Semi Shade

Moderate Water

Native to Singapore

Fruit or Vegetable

Suitable for Roadsides

Ornamental Leaves

Tree

Name

Family Name
Genus Epithet
Species Epithet
Name Authority
Name Status (botanical)
Common Names
Comments
Species Summary

Classifications and Characteristics

Plant Division	Angiosperms (Flowering Seed Plants) (Dicotyledon)
Plant Growth Form	Tree (Medium (16m-30m))
Lifespan (in Singapore)	Perennial

Mode of Nutrition	Autotrophic
Plant Shape	Conical
Maximum Height	27 m

Biogeography

Native Distribution	India, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore
Native Habitat	Terrestrial (Primary Rainforest, Secondary Rainforest)
Preferred Climate Zone	Tropical

Local Conservation Status

Native to Singapore (Critically Endangered (CR))

Description and Ethnobotany

Growth Form	It is a medium sized, dioecious tree with a dense narrow conical crown that can grow to 27 m tall, bearing many slender drooping branches.
Foliage	Leaves are simple, leathery, glossy, narrowly oblong held on a winged stalk of up to 2.5 cm. Young leaves and petiole are red and turns green with time. The leaves measure 14 - 28 cm long, 4 - 8 cm wide, with fine dark wavy lines on the underside.
Flowers	Its large, faintly fragrant to scentless flowers are unisexual where the female and male flowers are borne on separate individuals. The flower consist of 4 large, fleshy, circular to broadly spoon-shaped petals and 4 unequal sepals, 4 - 5.5 cm wide. Male flowers are bright red, produced in clusters between 10 - 22, numerous stamens surround the sunken button-like stigma. The female flowers are often produced singly, rarely in pairs with a large flat red-brown button-like stigma, at the tip of the branches.

Fruit	The fruit is fleshy and thick-walled, depressed globose with deep ridges along the fruit. The fruit held on a thick stalk of 2.5 cm wide, seated on persistent sepals and petals, starts off yellow and turns to bright yellow upon ripening. Each containing up to 16 seeds in sticky pale yellow latex.
Habitat	Occurs in tropical lowland evergreen rainforest, peat swamps forests and along streams, up to 550 m in altitude <1,2>
Associated Fauna	Its flowers are pollinated by insects. Its fruits are eaten by small mammals.
Cultivation	It can be propagated by seed.
Etymology	Latin Garcinia, commemorating after Laurent Garcin (1683-1751), a French botanist who travelled widely in India; Latin atroviridis, very dark green, referring to the colour of the leaves.
Ethnobotanical Uses	Edible Plant Parts : Edible Fruits, Edible Leaves Food (Fruit or Vegetable): The fresh fruits or dried fruit slices are used as a seasoning or sour relish (asam gelugor) in cooking, including curries. The young leaves are eaten. Medicinal: The juice from the leaves is used by a woman after childbirth. A decoction of the leaves and roots is used for ear-aches. When mixed with vinegar, the fruit is used in a lotion for a woman after confinement.

Landscaping Features

Landscaping	The plant has a sparse broken conical canopy, and new leaves that flush red. It is a tree suitable for gardens, parks and roadsides.
Desirable Plant Features	Ornamental Foliage, Ornamental Fruits, Ornamental Form
Landscape Uses	General, Suitable for Roadsides, Parks & Gardens, Small Gardens

Fauna, Pollination and Dispersal

Pollination Method(s)	Biotic (Fauna)
Seed or Spore Dispersal	Biotic (Fauna)

Plant Care and Propagation

Light Preference	Full Sun, Semi-Shade
Water Preference	Moderate Water
Plant Growth Rate	Moderate

Rootzone Tolerance	Moist Soils, Well-Drained Soils, Fertile Loamy Soils
Propagation Method	Seed

Foliar

Foliage Retention	Evergreen
Mature Foliage Colour(s)	Green
Mature Foliage Texture(s)	Glossy / Shiny, Leathery, Thick

Prominent Young Flush Colour(s)	Red
Young Flush Texture(s)	Leathery
Foliar Type	Simple / Unifoliate
Foliar Arrangement Along Stem	Opposite
Foliar Attachment to Stem	Petiolate
Foliar Shape(s)	Non-Palm Foliage (Oblong, Obovate)
Foliar Venation	Pinnate / Net
Foliar Margin	Entire
Foliar Apex - Tip	Acuminate, Acute
Foliar Base	Cuneate
Leaf Area Index (LAI) for Green Plot Ratio	4.0 (Tree - Dense Canopy)

Non - Foliar and Storage

Mature Bark Texture	Cracked
Stem Type & Modification	Woody
Root Type	Underground (Tap Root)

Floral (Angiosperm)

Flower & Plant Sexuality	Unisexual Flowers , Dioecious
Flower Colour(s)	Red, Orange

Flower Grouping	Cluster / Inflorescence, Solitary
Flower Location	Terminal
Flower Symmetry	Radial
Individual Flower Shape	Cruciform / Cross-shaped
Inflorescence Type	Cyme, Raceme
Flowering Period	A Few Times Yearly
Flowering Habit	Polycarpic

Fruit, Seed and Spore

Mature Fruit Colour(s)	Orange, Yellow / Golden
Fruit Classification	Simple Fruit
Fruit Type	Fleshy Fruit , Berry

References

References	<1> Gardner, S., Sidisunthorn, P. & Chayamarit, K. (2015). Clusiaceae. Forest Trees of Southern Thailand, vol. 1, pp 348. Bangkok: Kobfai Publishing Project. <2> Ngernsaengsaruay, C. (2022). Lectotypifications of Three Names in Garcinia, Synonymy of Garcinia pedunculata and Detailed Descriptions of Three Species in Garcinia Section Brindonia (Clusiaceae), Diversity 14: 556.

References

<1> Gardner, S., Sidisunthorn, P. & Chayamarit, K. (2015). Clusiaceae. Forest Trees of Southern Thailand, vol. 1, pp 348. Bangkok: Kobfai Publishing Project.

<2> Ngernsaengsaruay, C. (2022). Lectotypifications of Three Names in Garcinia, Synonymy of Garcinia pedunculata and Detailed Descriptions of Three Species in Garcinia Section Brindonia (Clusiaceae), Diversity 14: 556.

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Master ID	1630
Species ID	2923
Flora Disclaimer	The information in this website has been compiled from reliable sources, such as reference works on medicinal plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment and NParks does not purport to provide any medical advice. Readers should always consult his/her physician before using or consuming a plant for medicinal purposes.