Open Access Library Journal How to cite this paper: Gerten, D., Salma, I., Muhammad Shafie, M.S., Shariah, U., Brooke, P., Wong, W.W.W. and Nor- hayati, M.H. (2015) Traditional Knowledge and Practices Related to Genus Citrus, Garcinia, Mangifera and Nephelium in Malaysia. Open Access Library Journal, 2: e1453. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1101453 Traditional Knowledge and Practices Related to Genus Citrus, Garcinia, Mangifera and Nephelium in Malaysia Dominic Gerten 1* , Idris Salma 2 , Md Sah Muhammad Shafie 2 , Umar Shariah 3 , Pearlycia Brooke 3 , William Wai Wah Wong 4 , Md Harun Norhayati 5 1 Strategic Resource Research Centre, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Bintulu, Malaysia 2 Strategic Resource Research Centre, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Serdang, Malaysia 3 Agriculture Research Centre, Department of Agriculture Sarawak, Kuching, Malaysia 4 Agriculture Research Centre, Department of Agriculture Sabah, Tuaran, Malaysia 5 Horticulture Division, Department of Agriculture Perak, Bota, Malaysia Email: * gerten@mardi.gov.my Received 7 April 2015; accepted 25 April 2015; published 30 April 2015 Copyright © 2015 by authors and OALib. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract Asia holds massive fruit diversity. Many nutritional and functional properties studies have been done on the fruit species. However, not many studies were done on other aspects of knowledge that can be gained related to these species. The aim of this study was to identify the various uses of the tropical fruit plant species from the genus of Citrus, Garcinia, Mangifera and Nephelium, based on the traditional knowledge and practices of the local communities. The study was conducted through direct interviews with 109 respondents from six areas and communities, targeting the genus Citrus, Mangifera, Nephelium and Garcinia. A total of 18 fruit species were recorded and were categorized into five different purposes, namely for 1) food, 2) medicinal purpose, 3) culture, 4) good practice and 5) other usage. Most of the traditional knowledge related to the fruit species used was as food, food additives or processing method (54.6%). All species except Citrus spp. and Mangifera laurina have information on traditional knowledge related to food. The highest number of species was recorded from the community of Sibuti, with a total of 14 species recorded while least number was recorded from the community of Bukit Gantang with a total of 4 species. The average number of species and respondents recorded from each community was 8.5 species and 18 respondents. The two most frequently cited species were found to be regional specific knowl- edge. The most cited species was Mangifera pajang which is endemic to Borneo, while Garcinia atroviridis which recorded the second highest citation was only found in Peninsular Malaysia. Documentation of traditional knowledge is a good tool, not just for the conservation of traditional * Corresponding author.