Longan (Dimocarpus longan)

Family: Sapindaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Longan, Dimocarpus longan, is a fast-growing, evergreen, well-branched, fruit tree that grows up to 14 m tall with a bole diameter of 1 m. It is native to Southern Asia. Its fruits are highly valued as a food and as a medicine. The fruit has a sweet mucilaginous flesh. It can be eaten raw or dried and preserved in syrup, cooked in sweet and sour dishes or in soups.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet, though not as flavoursome as the related lychee(Litchi chinensis). — Fruit - raw or cooked.; The mucilaginous flesh is whitish, translucent and somewhat sweet, though not as flavoursome as the related lychee(Litchi chinensis).; It is delicious eaten raw and can also be dried, preserved in syrup, cooked in sweet and sour dishes or in soups.; The globose fruits are 12 - 25mm in diameter, with a thin, brittle, yellow-brown to light reddish-brown rind.

Habitat & North American Range

Humid mountain woodlands. Usually found in the understorey of primary forests, sometimes in secondary formations. (Zone 8, Zone 9, Zone 10)