Longan
tropical tree species that produces edible fruit
Longan (; Dimocarpus longan), also called lungan or dragon's eye, is a tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which the lychee and rambutan also belong. The fruit of the longan is similar to lychee, but has a milder, and more subtle aroma and sweetness. The species is native to Southeast Asia and southern China. Today, China, Thailand, and Vietnam are the largest producers of longan fruit, together accounting for approximately 95% of global production.
Etymology
The word Longan is derived from simplified Chinese: 龙眼; traditional Chinese: 龍眼; pinyin: lóngyǎn; Cantonese Yale: lung4 ngaan5. The character 龙 means "dragon" while 眼 means "eye", so together 龙眼 literally means "dragon eye". It is named this way as the black seed within the fruit is said to resemble the eyeball of a Loong. In Vietnamese, it is often called nhãn, which is a Sino-Vietnamese word derived from the Chinese character 眼 (“eye”), but typically dropping the Loong ("dragon") part in everyday usage.
Description
Depending upon climate and soil type the tree may grow to over 30 metres (100 ft) in height, but it typically stands 9–12 m (30–40 ft) in height and the crown is round.
“Longan” enters the record as tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Longan, tropical and tree can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Longan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.