Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Dimocarpus longan Lour. (SAPINDACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Longan

Description

Small to medium-sized tree 30-40 m tall with spreading rounded crown. Leaves 10-20 cm long, pinnately compound without terminal leaflets, leaflets 4-5 pairs, oblong-ovate to elliptic. Flowers small, c. 6 mm long, white, in terminal branched clusters. Fruits subglobular, c. 2 cm across, pustulate and nearly smooth, brown, seeds covered with translucent arillode.


Ecology

Lowland forest.

Distribution

Widely cultivated especially in Thailand. Continental S and SE Asia, naturalised in N Borneo, Java, Philippines and New Guinea.

Uses

Planted commercially and often in gardens for its sweet edible fruits.