Rambutan

The rambutan is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae, and the fruit of this tree. It is native to Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, although its precise natural distribution is unknown. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the Lychee, Longan, and Mamoncillo. It is believed to be native to the Malay Archipelago. Rambutan in Indonesian, Filipino and Malay literally means hairy caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit. There is a second species regularly for sale at Malay markets which is known as wild rambutan. It is a little smaller than the usual red variety and is colored yellow. The outer skin is peeled exposing the fleshy fruit inside which is then eaten. It is sweet, sour and slightly grape like and gummy to the taste.

Description

It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 10–20 m.

The leaves are alternate, 10–30cm long, pinnate, with 3-11 leaflets, each leaflet 5–15cm wide and 3-10cm broad, with an entire margin.

The flowers are small, 2.5–5mm, apetalous, discoidal, and borne in erect terminal panicles 15–30cm wide.

Rambutan trees are either male (producing only staminate flowers and, hence, produce no fruit), female (producing flowers that are only functionally female), or hermaphroditic (producing flowers that are female with a small percentage of male flowers).

The fruit is a round to oval drupe 3–6cm (rarely to 8cm) tall and 3-4cm broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10-20 together. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow), and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name rambutan, derived from the Malay word rambut which means hairs. The fruit flesh is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavour.

The single seed is glossy brown, 2–3cm, with a white basal scar. The seed is soft and crunchy. They are mildly poisonous when raw, but may be cooked and eaten.