Key Highlights
- Discovery of Garcinia kusumae expands India’s plant biodiversity.
- Named in memory of botanist J. Sarma’s mother, making him the first Indian to honour four close relatives through plant names.
- The tree’s distinctive fruit resin is already used in local cuisine and traditional medicine.
- Scientific validation was published in the peer‑reviewed journal Feddes Repertorium.
Detailed Insights
In April 2025, during a routine botanical survey of the Bamunbari forests in Assam’s Baksa district, senior botanist Jatindra Sarma identified a specimen he locally referred to as thoikora. The plant’s morphology—particularly its leaf arrangement, flower structure, and the presence of a black resinous cuticle on its fruit—differed markedly from all known Garcinia species recorded in the region. Using herbarium techniques such as air‑drying, pressing and microscopic examination, the sample was confirmed as a previously unrecorded species, which Sarma duly named Garcinia kusumae in honour of his late mother, Kusum Devi.
With a maximum height of around 18 metres, the tree undergoes a springtime blooming period from February to April, followed by a fruiting window that peaks between May and June. Beyond its botanical significance, the fruit’s resin is incorporated into Assamese culinary preparations—mixed into fish curries, ground into a cooling beverage, and even employed in folk remedies claimed to alleviate diabetes and dysentery.
The formal description was co‑authored with Hussain A. Barbhuiya (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai) and submitted to the international journal Feddes Repertorium. The publication places Assam among the most prolific regions in India for Garcinia diversity, hosting 12 distinct species and three varieties out of the 33 species documented nationwide.
Key Concepts
- Garcinia – a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs in the family Clusiaceae, known for edible fruits and medicinal properties.
- Herbarium – a collection of preserved plant specimens used for scientific study and documentation.
- Taxonomy – the branch of biology that classifies organisms based on shared characteristics and evolutionary relationships.