The Origin of Mangosteen

The place of origin of the mangosteen is unknown but is believed to be in Malay Archipelago or the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas.

There was a suggestion that the tree may have been first domesticated was done in Thailand and Burma. It is much cultivated in Thailand–where there were 9,700 acres (4,000 ha) in 1965–also in Kampuchea, southern Vietnam and Burma, throughout Malaya and Singapore.

The mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) was named after the French explorer Laurent Garcia (1683-1751) and has been in cultivation for a considerable time in various parts of humid tropics.
The tree was planted in Ceylon about 1800 and in India in 1881. There it succeeds in 4 limited areas–the Nilgiri Hills, the Tinnevelly district of southern Madras, the Kanya-kumani district at the southernmost tip of the Madras peninsula, and in Kerala State in southwestern India.

It is rare in Queensland, where it has been tried many times since 1854, and poorly represented in tropical Africa (Zanzibar, Ghana, Gabon and Liberia). There were fruiting trees in greenhouses in England in 1855.

The mangosteen is gaining popularity in the international market and recent demands for exported fruit have prompted growers to consider this crop with renewed interest.
The Origin of Mangosteen