Longan - Definition and Overview

Longans (龍眼, in Pinyin lóngyǎn, in Cantonese long-ngan, meaning "dragon eyes") (Nephelium longanum Cambess) are fruits often used in East Asian soups, snacks, desserts, and sweet-and-sour foods. They are round with a thin, brown-coloured inedible shell. The flesh of the fruit, which surrounds a big, black seed, is white, soft, and juicy.

Longans and lychees come out in around the same time of the year. Dried longan (a.k.a. 圓肉, in Pinyin yuánròu; lit. round meat) are often used in Chinese food therapy and herbal medicine. It is considered to possess a nourishing property. On the contrary, lychees are considered a highly Yang type of food.

See also

• akee
• lychee
• mamoncillo
• rambutan
• list of fruits

Longans are not to be confused with loganberries.

External links

• Fruits of Warm Climates: Longan (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/longan.html)
• Know and Enjoy Tropical Fruit: Lychee, Rambutan & Longan (http://www.proscitech.com.au/trop/l.htm)
• Dimocarpus longan (Sapindaceae) (http://www.montosogardens.com/dimocarpus_longan.htm)