The Longan Tree
This tree is native to Southern China. It is also grown in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and other parts of South East Asia.
A bunch of unriped longan fruits hanging from the tree.
China is a major exporter of longans. In Lamphun Province, Thailand, a Longan Festival is held around July-August every year. There will be a longan fruit festival, exhibition, contest for best quality longan and even a Miss Longan Beauty Contest. Longan is known as 'lumyai' in Thailand. Move over to Taiwan, and they have the Dongshan Longan Festial.
A bunch of riped longan fruits.
The Longan Fruit is also known as "mata kuching" in malay, meaning cat's eye. In chinese, "longan" means dragon's eye. In Vietnam, it is known as "long nhan".
Longan fruits are in season now. We can find longans being sold at many fruit stalls throughout the country. These longans are very sweet and tasty.
An opened longan fruit
The skin of the fruit is dry and thin. It is brown in colour and looks like frog skin. The flesh on the inside is crystal white in colour while the seed is black, hard and round. The flesh of the longan fruit is very sweet and delicious. Riped fruits can be eaten fresh from the tree.
Canned longan flesh is used to make cold desserts, added to jellies, and as toppings on fruit cakes and tarts. Canned longans can be made into cold drinks, mix fruit drink and added to fruit punch.
While fresh longan flesh is white in colour, dried longan flesh is dark brown to almost black in colour. Dried longan flesh is consumed for health purposes. Here, it is mixed with other herbs to make herbal soups, herbal drinks and hot desserts.
The Longan Tree
Scientific name: Dimorcarpus longan var. longan
Chinese name: Longan (dragon eyes)
Family: Sapindaceae (rambutan family)
Origin: China
The longan tree is a small to medium sized straggly tree. A full grown longan tree can reach up to 40 feet tall. The longan tree doesn't stand drought, therefore it is necessary water it regularly. Constant prunning is also needed. This tree needs quite a lot of space to grow. Grow under the full sun. Propagation is by grafting from selected cultivars, eg. those with sweet thick flesh from China and Thailand.
The tree in the picture above belongs to my neighbour. The front portion of the garden is around 5ft by 5ft, just enough to accomodate this tree. Flowering occurs around March and fruiting is usually from July to September. A bountiful harvest this season may reduce the next season's quantity of longans.