Mangosteen (Garcinia
mangostana), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a
tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to tropical lands
surrounding the Indian Ocean. Its origin is uncertain due to widespread
prehistoric cultivation.It grows mainly in Southeast Asia,
southwest India and other tropical areas such
as Colombia, Puerto Rico and Florida, where the tree has
been introduced. The tree grows from 6 to 25 metres (20 to 82 feet) tall.The
fruit of the mangosteen is sweet and tangy, juicy, somewhat fibrous, with
fluid-filled vesicles (like the flesh of citrus fruits), with an
inedible, deep reddish-purple colored rind (exocarp) when ripe. In
each fruit, the fragrant edible flesh that surrounds each seed is
botanically endocarp, i.e., the inner layer of the ovary.
