Santol is native to Southeast Asia. It's a fast-growing tree that give plenty of fruits. It's also a good shade tree with attractive evergreen foliage.
- Common names: Santol, Wild Mangosteen, Red Sentol, Sentul, Cotton fruit
- Scientific name: Sandoricum koetjape
- Botanical family: Meliaceae
- Edibility rating: 7/10
- Health Benefits: 6/10
- Maturity period: Vegetative propagation: 3-4 years
- Fruiting season: June to August (In India: June to September)
- Growing in containers: Not common
- Sunlight requirement: Full sun to light shade
- Growth habit type: Tree
- Average Height: 50 feet
- Average width (canopy span): 30-50 feet
- Growth rate: Medium
- Ease of growing: Moderate
Growing Santol
Santol prefers a warm and humid climate and a slightly acid soil. It loves full sun.
Unless pruned it'll become a really big tree. When grown for fruits, it is best to keep it manageable in size for easy harvest.
The bud plant starts to fruit in 2-3 years.
Santol isn't necessarily suitable for growing in a container. However, adventurous fruit growers may try using air pots.
Santol Fruit description and Taste
The santol originally found in the wild are sour and not very tasty. However, the santol available from good suppliers are usually a hybrid variety whose fruits are a mixture of sweet and sour. It's often referred to as sweet santol. Although not completely sweet, it is flavourful.
The fruit is made up of several lobs of juicy, white flesh, similar to the mangosteen. But they belong to different families. It contains small seeds which are inedible.
Santol fruit is high in vitamin C, dietary fibre, and minerals such as potassium and calcium.
Other Uses
The tree's rind and leaves contain saponin, a compound that when combined with water produces a soapy lather. Because of this, it may be used as a natural soap and shampoo.