Dimocarpus longan
Lour.
Longan
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liushengyu
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(c) 津涵, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) 津涵, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves - tea, Seeds
The fruit is eaten raw or cooked. The mucilaginous flesh is whitish, translucent, and somewhat sweet, though less flavoursome than the related lychee. It is delicious raw and can also be dried, preserved in syrup, cooked in sweet and sour dishes, or added to soups. The globose fruits are 12–25mm in diameter with a thin, brittle, yellow-brown to light reddish-brown rind. In China, most fruit is canned in syrup or dried. For drying, fruits are first heated to shrink the flesh and ease rind removal, then seeded and dried over a slow fire. The dried product is black, leathery, and smoky in flavour, and is mainly used to prepare a refreshing infusion.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It will grow in poorer soils and colder conditions than a litchi. It can stand frost and needs a period of cool temperature to fruit well. So they suit a subtropical to warm temperate climate, but will also grow in the lowland tropics. The chilling requirement is less than litchi which means it will fruit in more tropical areas. It does best with temperatures between 19-26°C. They can tolerate wind but drying winds at flowering affect fruit set. Excessive rainfall during flowering reduces fruit set. It suits monsoonal regions with a distinct wet and dry season. They can tolerate flooding for a few days. A rainfall of 1,500-2,000 mm is best. A pH of 4.5-6 is best. In XTBG Yunnan. It suits hardiness zones 11-12.
Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brazil, Cambodia, China*, Cook Islands, Cuba, East Timor, Guam, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, USA, Vietnam, West Indies,
How to Identify
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.
Nutrition Score: 39/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit - raw | 82 | 255 | 61 | 1.3 | — | 84 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
How to Grow
Seedlings do not produce true to type and take up to 20 years to fruit. So air layered or grafted plants are used and these fruit in 3-4 years. For air layering, mature shoots about 2-3 cm across are chosen which do not have active vegetative growth. A ring is cut around the twig 50 cm from the tip removing the bark and soft wood. A plastic sleeve is put over the twig and tied below the cut ring. Then peat moss or rooting mix is filled into the sleeve and this is tied off above the ring. When roots have formed the twig is cut off and planted. Cuttings and budding can also be used. Spacing needs to be 5-8 m apart. Deep rooting needs to be encouraged by good site preparation. This stops trees being blown over. Wind protection is essential. Although flowers need to be cross pollinated, this can be done between flowers on the same tree as flowers develop at different times. Very little pruning should be done. Fruit need to ripen on the tree. They do not ripen further after harvest.
Propagation: Most longan trees are grown from seed. After shade-drying for 4 days, seeds should be planted promptly at no more than 2cm depth, as deeper planting may result in multiple sprouts. Germination occurs within 7–10 days. Seedlings are transplanted to shaded nursery rows the following spring and moved to their permanent positions 2–3 years later during winter dormancy. Air-layering is also practised; air-layers bear fruit 2–3 years after planting. Grafting is another option.
Medicinal Uses
The fruit flesh is used as a stomachic, febrifuge, and vermifuge, and is regarded as an antidote for poison. A decoction of the dried flesh is taken as a tonic and treatment for insomnia and neurasthenic neurosis. In both North and South Vietnam, the seed's 'eye' is pressed against snakebites in the belief that it absorbs venom. Leaves and flowers are sold in Chinese herb markets but are not part of ancient traditional medicine; the leaves contain quercetin and quercitrin. The seeds are used to counteract heavy sweating, and the pulverised kernel — which contains saponin, tannin, and fat — serves as a styptic.
Other Uses
The seeds, due to their saponin content, are used like soapberries for shampooing hair. Seeds and rind are burnt as fuel. The heartwood is reddish brown and not clearly demarcated from the lighter sapwood. The wood is strong, tough, very hard, difficult to split, highly durable, and dries slowly but with little or no degradation. It is used for posts, agricultural implements, furniture, construction, shuttle pipes, bearings, textile weaving stands, and rifle butts. The wood is not highly valued for fuel.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Evergreen tree reaching 12 m tall and wide at fast growth rate. Hardy to UK zone 9. Self-fertile with flowers attracting wildlife. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils, preferring well-drained conditions across mildly acidic to mildly alkaline pH ranges. Grows in semi-shade or full sun and prefers moist soil.
Production
Seedlings grow slowly at first, but then grow more rapidly. Trees fruit after 7-10 years from seed and 3-5 years from vegetative plants. Up to 40 to 55 kg of fruit per tree are possible. Fruit mature in 120-150 days. Fruit can be stored for 6 weeks at 5°C when covered. Trees can live for 400 years.
Other Information
It is a cultivated food plants. The fruit are sold in local markets.
Notes
There are 6 Dimocarpus species. Fruit are high in folates 68μg/100.
Names & Synonyms
Arem litchi, Ashphal, Bambo, Buku, Chempoovam, Dieng-loba, Diengloba, Dopar, Dragon's eye, Ga-naing-gyo, Ihau, Kanakindeli, Kath lichu, Kelengkeng, Laam-yai, Lam-yai, Lamyai, Lengkeng, Long yean gan, Longana, Longyan, Loong narn, Lungan, Mahau, Malakcota, Mamoncillo chino, Marli, Mata kuching, Meanprey, Mien, Mirgoch, Mora, Mulei, Naga lichu, Nagalichi, Nhan, Nurai, Olho-de-dragao, Pasakotta, Peni mora, Pohon lengkeng, Poripuna, Puvatti, Rongan, Rupai, Ryugan, Shempuna, Shempuvan, Takuhis, Tating jala, Taw-kyetmauk, Taw-longan, Tayok-kyetmauk, Tegonog, Theifei-mung, Tokra, Umb, Vumb, Wumb
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