Rambutan

An evergreen tree 15–24 m tall. The leaves are alternate, pinnate, 7–30 cm long, with one to four pairs of leaflets, each 5–20 cm long and 2.5–11 cm broad. The flowers are small and petalless, borne in erect terminal panicles. Trees are either male (staminate only, no fruit) or female (functionally female flowers). The fruit is a round to oval single-seeded drupe 3–6 cm long (rarely 8 cm), with a leathery red or yellow rind densely covered with soft spines (spinterns); the aril is white, translucent, sweet and juicy, surrounding the single seed. The name 'rambutan' comes from the Malay word 'rambut', meaning 'hair'.

The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia, with its centre of diversity in Indonesia, and is closely related to the lychee, longan, pulasan and mamoncillo. Around the 13th–15th centuries Arab traders brought it to Zanzibar and Pemba (East Africa); in the 19th century the Dutch introduced it to the Americas (Suriname). Today it is grown throughout the tropics. In Vietnam, rambutan is widely grown in the Mekong Delta, Bình Thuận and the southeastern region; the fruit is eaten mainly fresh, and is also canned in syrup or made into jam and jelly. The flesh is rich in vitamin C, manganese and fibre; the roasted seeds are edible; the rind has folk uses including as a fabric dye.