View source for Longan

{{confuse|Loganberry}}

{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Longan
| status = LR/nt
| image = Dimocarpus_longan_fruits.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Longan fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Sapindaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Dimocarpus]]''
| species = '''''D. longan'''''
| binomial = ''Dimocarpus longan''
| binomial_authority = [[João de Loureiro|Lour.]]
}}

The '''Longan''' ({{zh-stp|s=龙眼|t=龍眼|p=lóngyǎn}}; [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]] ''long-ngan''; literally "[[Chinese dragon|dragon]] eye"; [[Thai language|Thai]] ลำไย) is a tropical [[tree]] native to southern [[China]]. The tree is very sensitive to frost. It is also found in [[Indonesia]] and [[Southeast Asia]]. It is also called ''guiyuan'' (桂圆) in [[Chinese language|Chinese]], ''lengkeng'' in Indonesia, ''mata kucing'' in Malaysia, and ''quả nhãn'' in Vietnamese. 



== Longan Tree & Fruit ==

The tree is very sensitive to [[frost]]. Longan [[trees]] require sandy [[soil]] and temperatures that do not typically go below 4.5 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit). Longans and [[lychee]]s bear fruit at around the same time of the year

The longan ("dragon eyes") is so named because of the fruit's resemblance to an eyeball when it is shelled (the black seed shows through the translucent flesh like a pupil/iris). Dried longan ({{zh-cpl|c=圓肉|p=yuánròu|l=round meat}}) are often used in [[Chinese cuisine]], Chinese [[food therapy]] and [[Chinese medicine|herbal medicine]] and Chinese sweet dessert soups. In contrast with the fresh fruit, the flesh of dried longans is dark brown to almost black.


== Cross-section Description ==
The [[fruit]] is edible, and is often used in [[East Asia]]n [[soups]], [[snack]]s, [[dessert]]s, and [[sweet-and-sour]] foods. They are round with a thin, brown-coloured inedible shell. The flesh of the fruit, which surrounds a big, black seed, is translucent white, soft, and juicy.




== Related Wikipedia Links ==

* [[List of Fruits]]
* [[Rambutan]]
* [[Dragon Fruit]]
* [[Asian Fruits]]
* [[Exotic Fruits]]
* [[Pears]]






==External links==
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=World Conservation Monitoring Centre|year=1998|id=32399|title=Dimocarpus longan|downloaded=9 May 2006}}
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/longan.html Fruits of Warm Climates: Longan]
* [http://www.proscitech.com.au/trop/l.htm Know and Enjoy Tropical Fruit: Lychee, Rambutan & Longan]
* [http://www.montosogardens.com/dimocarpus_longan.htm Dimocarpus longan (Sapindaceae)]
* [http://www.hawaiifruit.net/fruitdata/_longon.html Nutritional and historical information]
* [http://tc2tc.mojolingo.xuite.net/m2m-0000/waynesword.palomar.edu/plnov96.htm]


{{commons|Dimocarpus longan}}

[[Category:Sapindaceae]]
[[Category:Fruit]]
[[Category:Chinese cuisine]]
[[Category:Lao cuisine]]
[[Category:Malaysian cuisine]]
[[Category:Thai cuisine]]
[[Category:Vietnamese cuisine]]