Habitat | South and southeast Asia. |
Leaf Description | The evergreen, alternate, paripinnate leaves have 4 to 10 opposite leaflets, elliptic, ovate-oblong or lanceolate, blunt-tipped; 10-20 cm long and 3.5-5 cm wide; leathery, wavy, glossy-green on the upper surface, minutely hairy and grayish-green beneath. |
Flower Description | The pale-yellow, 5- to 6-petalled, hairy-stalked flowers, larger than those of the lychee, are borne in upright terminal panicles, male and female mingled. |
Fruit Description | The longan ("dragon eyes") is so named because its fruit, when it is shelled, resembles an eyeball. The seed is small, round and hard, and of an enamel-like, lacquered black. The fully ripened, freshly harvested shell is bark-like, thin and firm. |