Carambola

Averrhoa carambola

Carambola fruits

Plant Info

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Oxalidales
Family:	Oxalidaceae
Genus:	Averrhoa
Species:	A. carambola

Binomial name

Averrhoa carambola
L.

Carambolas still on the tree

Belimbing, as it is called in Indonesia

The carambola is a species of tree native to Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia and is popular throughout Southeast Asia Trinidad Malaysia and parts of East Asia. It is also grown in Dominican Republic, Brazil, Peru, Ghana, Guyana, Samoa, Tonga, Taiwan, French Polynesia, Costa Rica and Australia. Carambola is commercially grown in the United States in south Florida and Hawaii. It is closely related to the bilimbi.

Tree description and cultivation

The carambola tree has long compound leaves (up to 50 cm long), pink flowers that appear either at leaf axils or branch extremities. The tree is densely branched and can reach a height of 5 m. Carambola is one of the rare arboreal members of the Oxalidaceae family. Unlike most tropical trees, the carambola does not need much sunlight. In a container the starfruit does well, except it needs constant moisture, extra sunlight and space to grow. Carambola Tree will fruit in a container.

The yield of starfruit is greatly increased by the active foraging of pollinators, such as honey bees and stingless bees

Fruit description

Its fruit, the carambola, more popularly known as star fruit, but also coromandel gooseberry, kamranga, or five finger, is a golden-yellow to green berry. When cut across it shows a 5-pointed (sometimes 6-pointed or 7-pointed) star shape, hence the name, "star fruit." Star fruits are crunchy, and have a slightly tart, acidic, sweet taste, reminiscent of pears, apples, and sometimes grapes. The fruits are a good source of vitamin C. Its seeds are small and brown. They consist of a tough outer skin and a tangy white inside.

There are two varieties of star fruit - acidulate and sweet. The tart varieties can often be identified by their narrowly spaced ribs. The sweet varieties usually have thick fleshy ribs.

The fruit starts out green, and goes to yellow as it ripens, though it can be eaten in both stages.

There are also approximately seventeen different cultivars. These are

Arkin
B-2
B-10
B-16
B-17
Dah Pon
Demak
Fwang Tung
Golden Star
Hew-1
Kary
Maha
Mih Tao
Newcomb
Sri Kembangan
Star King
Tean Ma
Thayer

Each has its own origin, flavor and production levels.

Usages of Star Fruits

The fruit is rich in juice to the extent that one can make wine out of them. In Myanmar, it is used for making Tea pickle.

Health Risks

Individuals with kidney trouble should avoid consuming the fruit, due to the presence of oxalic acid. Juice made from carambola can be even more dangerous due to its concentration of the acid.

Those who are diabetic should also avoid this fruit, due to its high amount of sugar.

Drug Interactions

Like grapefruit, star fruit is considered to be a potent inhibitor of seven cytochrome P450 isoforms.^[1]^[2] These enzymes are significant in the first pass elimination of many medicines, and thus the consumption of star fruit or its juice in combination with certain medications can significantly increase their effective dosage within the body. Research into grapefruit juice has identified a number of common medications affected, including statins which are commonly used to treat cardiovascular illness, benzodiazepines (a tranquilizer family including diazepam) as well as other medicines.^[3] These interactions can be fatal if an unfortunate confluence of genetic, pharmacological, and lifestyle factors results in, for instance, heart failure, as could occur from the co-ingestion of star fruit or star fruit juice with atorvastatin (Lipitor).