Longan/longyen/lungan, Dragon’s eye
oeil de dragon (French), Longan (German), mamonchilla de China (Spanish), pitomba (Portuguese), ashphal (Hindi), puretti (Bengali), shepkran (Tamil), lamyai (paa)(Thai), longan (Malay/Indonesian), long yan (Chinese)
(Dimocarpus longan or Euphoria longana — Family Sapindaceae)
The longan fruit is a distant relative of the litchi. It is round, smaller, and ripen later than the litchi. It also withstands lower temperatures, thriving in areas where the litchi cannot, as Florida.
The brittle light brown skin is not warty, and encloses a translucent, jelly-like flesh around a single large inedible stone.
The flavour is similar to that of litchi and can be peeled and eaten the same way, but longans have a pleasant peppery tang.
Longans are grown throughout Southeast Asia and China, where they are especially popular. Longans are served on their own, in fruit salads, in stir fries, and in sweet and sour dishes. They are also sold canned in syrup.
