Arcinia indica, a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as kokum, is a fruit tree which has culinary and pharmaceutical uses.

The tree is also ornamental, with a dense canopy of green leaves and red-tinged, tender, emerging leaves. It is indigenous to the Western Ghats region along the western coast of India.

It is found in forest lands, riversides, and wasteland, and also gets cultivated on a small scale. It does not require irrigation, spraying or fertilizers.

The outer cover of fruit is dried in the sun to get aamsul or kokam. It is used as a slightly sour spice in Maharashtrian recipes to yield peculiar taste and dark red color. It is a preferred substitute in Konkan for tamarind.

Kokam tree is rain fed, does not have any pest or diseases apart from the monkey menace, and is almost a “zero-attention” crop.

For paralysis, the clean-chopped stem bark is finely powdered and is added to boiling water. After two to three minutes, a lightly cooled decoction is used for washing the affected parts, two to three times a day.

Kokum juice is also thought to be effective against allergies due to bee stings and other insect bites, sun exposure symptoms and acidity.