Mangosteen Trivia
-
The first fruiting mangosteen outside of SE Asia were in English greenhouses in 1855
-
Queen Victoria is believed to have had a penchant for it and there’s a story, probably apocryphal, that she declared mangosteens her favorite fruit and would offer a knighthood to anyone who would bring her a fresh supply. Of course aristocrats would, almost certainly have been the only ones with the means to have such greenhouses so a knighthood would probably been below their station anyway!
-
English novelist Charlotte Cory wrote: Mangosteen Mania, a fictional story of one man’s attempt to win a prize and how others attempted to cash in on it, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on December 20, 2005
- “…On board a ship from Bombay to Southampton in 1901, a rare mangosteen plant travels by Royal Appointment from Queen Victoria herself…
-
mangosteen pericarp is used for tanning leather in China
-
the pericarp also yields a purple dye. In fact, many of the better tourist hotels in SE Asia won’t serve unpeeled mangosteens, because too many tourists have ruined their clothes with it
