Editing Garcinia spicata

{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; width: 320px; margin-left: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1em;"
! colspan="2" style="background: #e8e8e8;" | ''Garcinia spicata''
|-
! Scientific name
| ''Garcinia spicata''
|-
! Genus
| [[Garcinia]]
|-
! Family
| [[Clusiaceae]]
|-
! Order
| [[Malpighiales]]
|-
! Native range
| India; Sri Lanka<sup id="cite_ref-1">[[#cite_note-1|[1]]]</sup>
|-
! Habit
| Evergreen tree, reported at 2–25 m<sup id="cite_ref-2">[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>
|-
! Sex expression
| Dioecious<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>
|-
! Fruit
| Yellow berry, about 3–4 cm across<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>
|}

'''Garcinia spicata''' is an evergreen Garcinia native to India and Sri Lanka.<sup>[[#cite_note-1|[1]]]</sup> It is recorded under the synonym ''Xanthochymus spicatus''.<sup>[[#cite_note-1|[1]]]</sup> The species is associated with lower-elevation evergreen and semievergreen forest in southern India and Sri Lanka.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup>

A taxonomic revision of Garcinia section Garcinia recognizes 13 species and addresses species exclusions and synonymy; it supplies taxonomic context rather than cultivation instructions.<sup id="cite_ref-3">[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

== Description ==

The species is reported as an evergreen tree ranging from 2 to 25 m in height.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> The 2–25 m span indicates substantial variation and should not be treated as a reliable mature size for every cultivated plant. Its native forest setting points to a warm tropical plant with a preference for a consistently favorable root environment; a species-specific cold limit and fixed cultivated size should not be inferred from this range.

== Cultivation ==

=== Soil and water ===

A forest-floor style starting point is a moisture-retentive medium that also drains freely; this is a habitat-based cultivation inference from its lower-elevation evergreen and semievergreen forest association, not a measured soil specification for the species.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> Avoid treating a short dry interval or temporary wet period as proof of a tolerance limit. In a container or young-plant bed, monitor the root zone and adjust irrigation to keep active growth from experiencing repeated severe drying while preventing prolonged stagnant water.

=== Sun and humidity ===

Its forest habitat supports beginning with bright filtered light and good atmospheric humidity rather than moving a shade-grown plant abruptly into exposed sun; this is a habitat-based cultivation inference, not a published light threshold.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> Provide airflow around the foliage while protecting young plants from sudden exposure and desiccating conditions. A precise shade percentage or humidity target is not assigned here.

=== Seasonal changes ===

Because the species is evergreen and comes from evergreen or semievergreen forest, it should not be managed as a strongly deciduous tree with a deliberately imposed dry dormancy.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> Keep moisture more consistent during warm active growth and respond to the local cool or dry season by reducing irrigation only as plant demand and evaporation fall. Do not assign a fixed flowering or fruiting calendar without local observations.

== Propagation ==

Seed propagation is the documented route for ''Garcinia spicata''.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> The fruit is reported to contain one to three seeds.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> Keep seed lots tied to their fruiting date and handling history rather than assigning a universal emergence schedule.

== Flowering, fruiting, and harvest ==

The species is described as dioecious. Both male and female forms usually need to be grown when fruit and seed are required; ''usually'' should be retained rather than converted into an absolute pollination rule.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> Do not assign a flowering calendar, bearing age, yield range, or pollinator requirement without species-specific evidence.

The fruit is described as a smooth, yellow, fleshy berry about 3–4 cm across, with one to three seeds.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> No species-specific harvest color progression or ripeness schedule is given.

== Fruit and uses ==

The pulp is described as sweet but with an acrid or bitter aftertaste and an unpleasant odour.<sup>[[#cite_note-2|[2]]]</sup> The fruit is described as edible. These sensory descriptions are source-specific and should not be generalized to unnamed Garcinia fruits or to all individual trees.

== References ==

* <span id="cite_note-1"></span>[[#cite_ref-1|↑]] '''[1]''' [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:428247-1 Garcinia spicata (Wight & Arn.) Hook.f. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science].

* <span id="cite_note-2"></span>[[#cite_ref-2|↑]] '''[2]''' [https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Garcinia+spicata Garcinia spicata - Useful Tropical Plants].

* <span id="cite_note-3"></span>[[#cite_ref-3|↑]] '''[3]''' [https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.373.1.1 Nazre, M., Newman, M.F., Pennington, R.T. & Middleton, D.J. (2018). Taxonomic Revision of Garcinia Section Garcinia (Clusiaceae). Phytotaxa 373(1): 1–52].

[[Category:Fruit plants]]
[[Category:Garcinia]]