Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum)
Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) is a tropical fruit-bearing tree in the family Sapindacee, native to the Malayan Archipelago, between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. It is related to lychee, longan and mamoncillo. The name rambutan is derived from Malay word 'rambut' meaning hair, in referrence to the hairs that cover the fruit. Rambutan tree is an evergreen tree, growing 12-20 m tall. The alternate leaves are 10-30 cm long, pinnate with 3-11 leaflets. Each leaflet is 5-15 cm long and 3-10 cm wide, with an entire margin. The small, mildly-fragrant, greenish-white flowers are 2.5- 5 mm diameter, have no petals, and occur in large bunches in erect terminal panicles, 15-30 cm wide. The flowers are either male, female or hermaphroditic (produce female flowers with a small percentage of male flowers). Flowering occurs twice a year, with the fruit matures 15-18 weeks after flowering. The color of the rambutan is usually red (seldom yellow), and covered with soft pliable hairs. The flesh is white, juicy, translucent, with a sweet taste. Most varieties have flesh that are detached from the seeds, while some attached to the seeds. The single seed is brown, oval, 1-1.3 cm long, with a white basal scar. Rambutan is a non-climacteric fruit that only ripen on trees and not after harvest. It is one of the best known fruit trees planted around the gardens and orchards in Southeast Asia, and in other tropical countries. Rambutan is usually sold and eaten fresh. It is used in making jams, jellies and canned in syrup. Propagation is by grafting, air-layering, and budding. Trees that are grown from seeds tend to produce sour fruit.  Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) Author: Steve (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic) | ||
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