MARGAO: The various hillocks in Curtorim village abound with the tree “zaar ambo” and the locals here used to eat it till recently. It may be recalled that a single “zaar ambo” tree stands at Navelim by the side of road leading to Sinquetim.
Incidentally, while the people in Navelim do not consume the fruit of this tree, in Curtorim till recently it used to be consumed and the preferred use of it was to make a syrup of the pulp by adding sugar to it as the fruit is quite sour in taste. In fact Zaar Ambo can be found on 8 of the 19 hillocks in Curtorim according to Santan Rodrigues Chairperson of the Curtorim Biodiversity Committee.
Associate Professor of Botany at the Government College, Quepem Celly Quadros Coutinho who is the chairperson of the Navelim Biodiversity Committee has identified the tree to be Garcinia tinctoria more commonly known as mangosteen or golden mango in English that belongs to the Clusiaceae family.
This tree is native to Asia and Australia and being rich in hydroxycitric acid is used in the pharmaceutical industry and is known to help burn fats. However, eating more than two fruits can cause nausea in some people.
A landlord from Curtorim in whose property there are quite a few of these trees, says that in his childhood the fruit was consumed by people while others would collect the fruit and prepare a syrup of its pulp that would be diluted and consumed.
The timber value of the tree has not been assessed and that is one of the reasons why they survive in the village, he said while adding that the log of the tree used to tie the pulley of their well has survived for more than 20 years now.
“People have found better fruits to consume now and that is the reason why “zaar ambo” is not being consumed now,” said Santan while recollecting how he along with others used to collect the fruit during their childhood.
“When there are exotic fruits available in the market and different species of mangoes flourishing thanks to the graft available, nobody wants to eat the zaar ambo anymore,” he said.
