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Kokam
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Kokam
ative Photo: Dinesh Valke
Common name: Kokam, Goa butter tree, Kokum butter tree, Mangosteen • Hindi: कोकम Kokum • Marathi: भेरंड bheranda, भिरंड bhiranda, कोकंब kokamba, कोकंबी kokambi, रातंबा ratamba, रातंबी ratambi, तांबडा आंबा tambada amba • Tamil: murgal, murgal-mara • Malayalam: കാട്ടമ്പി kaattampi, കൊക്കം kokkam • Kannada: ಮುರ್ಗಿನ ಹುಳಿ Murgina huli, ಪುನರ್ಪುಳಿ Punarpuli, Devana huli, ಮುರಗಲು Muragalu, ಮುಗಲ್, ಮುಗಲು Mugal • Oriya: Tintali • Gujarati: કોકમ Kokam • Konkani: भिरींड bhirind, कोकम kokam • Sanskrit: वृक्षामला Vrikshamia, Amlabija, Amlapura, Amlashaka
Botanical name: Garcinia indica    Family: Clusiaceae (Garcinia family)
Synonyms: Brindonia indica

Kokum is a tree with a dense canopy of green leaves and red-tinged tender emerging leaves. It is indigenous to the Western Ghats region of India, along the western coast. The tree is large and handsome, having elliptic, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, deep-green glossy leaves, 5.5-8 cm long and 2.5-3 cm broad. The flowers are fleshy, dark pink, solitary or in spreading cluster. The fruit is brownish or brownish-gray, marbled with yellow, and is crowned by the 4-parted, stalkless stigma. There are from 6 to 8 seeds, and the pulp is juicy, white, and delicious in taste and odor. It is about the size of an orange. An average kokum tree bears hundreds of fruits during summer. When they are tender, they are green in color. As they ripen, they get the beautiful purple color. The fruits are plucked when they are ripe. The tree is a source of kokam butter which is used in cosmetics and confectionary. Flowering: November-February.

Identification credit: Vandan Jhaveri Photographed in Mumbai.

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