The Mangosteen Plant and Its Beneficial Qualities

When you think of the mangosteen plant, you must think of a plant with great importance, mainly due to the abundance of beneficial, nutritional and antioxidant qualities found within the mangosteen fruit. The mangosteen plant, resident to Southeast Asia, bares a fruit that should not be likened or confused with that of a mango because they are nothing alike.

Information About the Mangosteen Plant

As with all plants, they are broken down into classifications and groups, and in this case the mangosteen plant is part of the Guttiferae group, which includes tropical trees and shrubs that are known to secrete acrid resinous juices.

There is not a lot of information out there on the mangosteen tree, though there is a great deal of speculative information available. It has been long believed that the mangosteen plant originated in Southeast Asia, possibly in Moluccas, though other reports indicate the mangosteen tree was originally domesticated in either Thailand or Burma. However, what is really interesting is that the fruit of the mangosteen tree is often shipped from Singapore to Calcutta then across to China for the sole purpose of medical use.

We live in a world of commercialism; so, it should be no surprise that there is a growing marketing network surrounding the beneficial properties of the mangosteen. This is easily explained by the fact that it is human nature to quest for better health and ways in which we can enhance it, which the mangosteen fruit now offers us one more means of accomplishing this.

It is not so much the fruit as it is the xanthones or antioxidants that are contained in this fruit. The numerous xanthones contained in the pericarp of the mangosteen fruit have a specific effect on particular parts of the body. The mangosteen fruit has over forty different specialized xanthones identified in its pericarp, which really does make the mangosteen a product rich in healthy benefits.

How Does the Mangosteen Tree Grow?

The mangosteen tree is a delicate slow-growing tree. The mangosteen tree is a tropical evergreen tree with a pyramid shape that will grow to a height of 20 to 82 feet. It has a dark brownish flaky bark, with its inner bark holding yellowish gummy latex. The fruit produced is dark purplish in color on the exterior skin. Because the mangosteen tree is a tropical tree it thrives best to limestone, and feels quite at home in rich organic soil. This is why mangosteen trees are grown in abundance in places like India, with the most productive trees growing on clay that contains coarse material and very little silt. The mangosteen tree is definitely unique, and, it is no wonder that such a hard to cultivate tree would yield such a beneficial fruit.