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The Importance and Origin of the Mangosteen Seed
Technically, what is called the mangosteen seed actually is not a seed at all; rather they are adventitious embryos as there has been no sexual fertilization. When growth begins with a mangosteen seed, a shoot will emerge from one end of the seed, and a root from the other end as well. However, this latter root is short-lived and will soon be replaced with roots that will develop at the base of the shoot.
Different than a lot of seeds, the mangosteen seed has a vegetative process of reproduction, and there is naturally little variation in the resulting trees and their fruits. The mangosteen is actually usually propagated by seed, and the mangosteen seed tends to lose vitality quickly, and must be planted fresh or stored in moist peat moss, sawdust or paper, in order to keep its health.
Some of the mangosteen seeds can be polyembryonic, which means that they end up producing more than one shoot, as the individual nucellar embryos can be separated before planting. Transplanting mangosteen seeds is incredibly difficult, because of delicate taproot and poor lateral root development. Germination occurs at roughly two to three weeks time, and the seedlings are particularly slow-growers. They require from 50-75% shade during the first three or four years, and then can be grown out in the full sunlight.
Mangosteen seeds are particularly sensitive to high levels of fertilizer, and should instead be fertilized with a more dilute fertilizer, or an organic fertilizer. Mangosteen grows its best in a fertile, and well drained soil, which contains an acid pH and high organic matter content. The trees should then be fertilized every three to four months during the first three years of life and thereafter it is only necessary one to two times a year.
The fruit that the mangosteen seed produces is unlike no other, as no other tropical fruit is so highly praised as that of the mangosteen. The mangosteen is basically universally loved by all those who get a taste, and although the sales would then be significant in a place such as the United States, you can generally only find it in the more eastern parts of the world. Its combination of beautiful coloring and interesting shape, which is combined with its lustrous, delicate, and enticing flavor, makes for a fruit that ranks high above all others.
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