Kokum
Garcinia indica
Purple fruit dried into the sour rind of Konkan and Goan curries.
Hardiness: zones 10 to 12
Light: part shade
Size: about 40 ft tall, 25 ft wide
Harvest: April to June
From: Western Ghats of India
Here: Too tender to overwinter outdoors on the Lake Erie shore (zone 6b to 7a): grow it in a pot and bring it in, or treat it as an annual.
Good for: food.
Native to: South & Southeast Asian tropics. Hardy in zones 10 to 12.
The story
Kokum grows in the Western Ghats, where the Konkan and Goan coasts have dried its purple rind for sol kadhi and fish curry for centuries and pressed the seed into a butter for skin and sweets; it is a Garcinia cousin of mangosteen.
Planting
Part shade, rich, moist, drained soil, heat, and humidity; a 40-foot tree. Plant a grafted female in the wet tropics.
Growing
Keep moist and mulched; shelter young trees from sun and wind. It is slow and long-lived.
Harvest and use
Fruit ripens purple in late spring; cut the rind into strips, salt, and sun-dry until black. The pulp makes a cooling drink.
What to watch for
Drought and cold.
See if Kokum fits your yard
Free planner: enter your ZIP for frost dates, climate fit and a sowing calendar. No account, no ads, no tracking cookies.
More tropical and subtropical food plants
General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home