Longan
| Longan | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Sapindaceae |
| Genus: | Dimocarpus |
| Species: | D. longan |
| Binomial name | |
| Dimocarpus longan | |
| Synonyms | |
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| Longan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Longan" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 龍眼 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 龙眼 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | 'dragon eye' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dimocarpus longan, commonly known as the longan (/ˈlɒŋɑːn/) and 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 that of the lychee, but is less aromatic in taste.
The longan (from Vietnamese long nhãn or Cantonese lùhng ngáahn 龍眼, literally 'dragon eye'), is so named because the black seed within the shelled fruit creates the appearance of an eyeball. The plant is native to tropical Asia and China.