Fruit · Medicinal
Longan
Dimocarpus longan Lour.
India to southern China and Malesia
Fun factIn Vietnam the 'eye' of the longan seed has been pressed against a snakebite in the belief that it draws out the venom.
An evergreen fruit tree of southern Asia and a close relative of the lychee, with a dense, rounded crown of glossy pinnate leaves. Small, fragrant, pale-yellow flowers in upright sprays are followed by drooping clusters of small round fruit with a thin brown rind, sweet translucent flesh and a single shiny black seed. The name comes from the Chinese long yan, 'dragon's eye', after the look of the dark seed with its pale spot.
Sourced · see Record tab
1on the estate
0carrying a tag
0sponsored
FamilySapindaceae
Spanish nameMamoncillo chino
Also known asLungan, Dragon's eye
Native toNative from India and Sri Lanka through Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indochina and southern China (including Hainan) to Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, Sulawesi and the Moluccas; cultivated more widely and introduced in places such as Florida and Taiwan.
| Tag | Garden area | Zone | Planted | Status | Sponsored | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | B | — | Planted | — | Fruiting (photographed 2026-10-04). Not yet tagged. Reported by Dandapani 2026-10-28. |
1 of these has no tag yet; it will be numbered when the garden team re-tags the estate.