Lemon Drop Mangosteen

Taxobox
name = Lemon Drop Mangosteen


image_width = 250px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Malpighiales
familia = Clusiaceae
genus = "Garcinia"
species = "G. madruno"
binomial = "Garcinia madruno"
binomial_authority = (Pittier) HammelThe Charichuelo fruit or Lemon Drop Mangosteen, "Garcinia madruno" is indigenous to the Andes where it is enjoyed and widely seen in marketplaces but not renowned. The fruit looks like a shriveled droopy lemon and has a similar rind. The interior is soft white pulp and has a slight citrus taste people have compared to a sweet santol fruit or lemony cotton candy. The fruit was formerly listed as a Rheedia which has since been absorbed into Garcinia as Rheedias are now known as "new world mangosteens".

The fruit is not very well known outside of South America and a few backyard growers in South Florida. It is closely related to other edible tropical fruits such as Mangosteen and Button Mangosteen. The fruit made a guest appearance on the Costa Rica episode of Man vs Wild, a show on the Discovery Channel.

External Links and References

* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/94556645@N00/2398519059/sizes/o/in/set-72157604441551262/ Extreme macro closeup of Garcinia madruno]
* [http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/ipgri/fruits_from_americas/frutales/Ficha%20Rheedia%20madruno.htm Garcinia (previously Rheedia) madruno]
* [http://www.rainforestconservation.org/data_sheets/agroforestry/Rheedia_spp.html Rheedia spp.]
*http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Rheedia.html
*"Five Decades with Tropical Fruit, A Personal Journey" (2001) by William Francis Whitman
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/94556645@N00/1053059104/ Lemon Drop Mangosteen photo]