Atractocarpus fitzalanii

Atractocarpus fitzalanii

The brown gardenia or yellow mangosteen (Atractocarpus fitzalanii (F.Muell.) Puttock) is an arboreal species belonging to the Rubiaceae family.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Magnoliophyta division,
Class Magnoliopsida,
Rubiales Order,
Rubiaceae family,
Subfamily Ixoroideae,
Tribe Gardeniae,
Genus Atractocarpus,
Species A. fitzalanii.
The term is basionym:
– Gardenia fitzalanii F.Muell.;
The terms are synonyms:
– Randia fitzalanii (F.Muell.) F.Muell.;
– Randia fitzalanii (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth.;
– Trukia fitzalanii (F.Muell.) Fosberg.
Within this species the following subspecies are recognised:
– Atractocarpus fitzalanii subsp. fitzalanii;
– Atractocarpus fitzalanii subsp. tenuipes Puttock.

Etymology –
The term Atractocarpus comes from the combination of the two Greek words: ἄτρακτος, atractos, i.e. spindle and καρπός, carpόs, i.e. fruit, with reference to the shape of the fruits of the type species.
The specific epithet fitzalanii was given in honor of the Irish botanist and collector Eugene Fitzherbert Albini Fitzalan (1830 – 1911) who, after his transfer to Australia, contributed in a particular way to the study of the flora of Queensland.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Atractocarpus fitzalanii is a plant native to Australia where it grows in a territory that goes from the extreme north of Queensland to the south up to Mackay.
Its habitat is the undergrowth of well-developed rainforests and in sheltered areas on a variety of sites at elevations from sea level up to 1,200 metres.

Description –
Atractocarpus fitzalanii is an evergreen plant that grows in the form of woody or small tree of about 3-10 (15) m in height.
The trunk, which can have a diameter of up to 30 cm, is covered with a gray and smooth bark.
The leaves are opposite, large, glossy dark green, obovate to oval in shape, 10–18 cm long by 3–5 cm wide. The yellowish veins and midrib of the leaf are prominent. The young leaves are bright lime green.
The flowers are grouped in axillary inflorescences at the base of the new shoots bearing unisexual funnel-shaped flowers, due to partial abortion of the organs of the other sex.
The male flowers have a bell-shaped calyx with truncated apex, corolla with about 1 cm long tube, 5 oblong lobes, 1-1,5 cm long, and sessile anthers inside the tube. The female ones with bell-shaped calyx, about 0,6 cm long, with just mentioned lobes, corolla with about 1,5 cm long tube and 5 oblong lobes, about 1,5 cm long, lower ovary and 1,4-long style 1.6cm.
The fruit is round or oval in shape, with a diameter of 3-8 cm, of a yellow color when ripe, with a pulp with a taste similar to mangosteen (Garcinia × mangostana L.) The fruits ripen from April to June.
Inside the fruits there are numerous almost circular flattened seeds of 6-7 mm in diameter.

Cultivation –
Atractocarpus fitzalanii is an evergreen plant that is harvested from the wild for local use as food and medicine. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant, prized mostly for its beautiful white flowers, which have a strong, fragrant gardenia scent. It is especially cultivated for its prolific growth in subtropical gardens of eastern Australia.
The plants are tolerant of light, short-lived frosts and prefer a position with bright light, although some protection from the sun during the hottest hours of the day will prevent yellowing and scorching of the leaves.
It is an easy growing plant, succeeding in a variety of soils.
It needs regular watering in summer, more spaced in winter, but without ever allowing the substratum to dry up completely, and the presence of mineral elements, coming from a fertile soil, in spring-summer.
Plant suitable for the cultivation in pot for the decoration of open spaces, where the climate allows it, or of verandas, winter gardens and luminous interiors with lowest winter temperatures not under the 15 °C.
The propagation takes place by seed, which must be planted in the shortest possible time, previously kept in warm water for a day, in loam for sowing with the addition of silica sand or perlite for a 30%, kept humid at a temperature of 25- 28 °C, with germination times of 1-2 months; it reproduces also by cutting.
The fruits, considered by many to have a not particularly pleasant taste, are consumed fresh mainly by the aborigines.

Customs and Traditions –
Atractocarpus fitzalanii is a plant known by some common names such as: brown gardenia, native gardenia, randia, orange randia, papajarin, yellow mangosteen.
The fruits are eaten by the aborigines and the plant is grown as an ornamental in gardens in subtropical climates.
The plant has great ornamental value due to its luxuriant foliage and the intensely scented flowers, cultivable as an isolated specimen, for hedges or along avenues in the tropical and humid subtropical climate regions, its cultivation can be attempted in the milder temperate-warm ones. where temperatures around 0 °C are short-lived exceptions.
The fruits are edible and turn yellow when ripe.
In medicinal use, the plant has been used as an aphrodisiac.
from an ecological point of view this plant is characterized by the flowers that open in the afternoon, after which the moths visit the plants to pollinate them. Birds eat the fruit.

Method of Preparation –
Atractocarpus fitzalanii is a plant whose fresh fruits have been eaten by the local aborigines since ancient times.
The yellow-skinned, baseball-sized fruit has a flavor that presumably resembles a mangosteen.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/232057982/original.jpeg

Attention: The pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not in any way represent a medical prescription; we therefore decline all responsibility for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.