Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Dimocarpus longan - Longan

Edible portion: Fruit, Leaves - Tea, Seeds

A tree up to 12-40 m high with a low trunk and spreading branches. The tree has a rounded crown. It keeps its leaves throughout the year. The trunk can be 80 cm across. There can be buttresses 2 m tall. The bark is corky. The twigs have 5 faint grooves. The leaves are 3-45 cm long by 1.8-20 cm wide. The leaves have petioles and six to nine leaflets. Leaflets are up to 12 cm long. Young leaflets are often red before turning green. The flowers occur in upright clusters. These are 8-40 cm long. They are produced on new growth. The flowers are small and reddish-brown. A progression of male, female and hermaphrodite flowers occur. Flowers are pollinated by insects. The fruit is similar to a litchi and about 2.5 cm across. They are yellow-brown when mature and with a pebbly surface. They occur in clusters of 10 to 80. The flesh or aril is white and sweet. The seed is small, round and brownish-black. There are several named cultivated varieties.